Ronda Rousey knows a little something about being a pioneer in mixed martial arts.
The Olympic judoka was part of the first female bout in the Octagon when she submitted Liz Carmouche in the opening round at UFC 157 on Feb. 23, 2013. The promotion’s inaugural women’s bantamweight champion would go on to become one of the sport’s biggest crossover stars during her tenure before leaving MMA following a loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 in December 2016.
In the present day, Weili Zhang is something of a pioneer herself, as she become the first Chinese champion in the history of the Las Vegas-based organization with a 42-second stoppage of Jessica Andrade in the UFC Fight Night 157 headliner in Shenzhen, China, on Saturday.