Triple H REVEALS Dana White was hoping Chinese star Zhang Weili became champion after launch of UFC PI

It is always an interesting notion when combat sports cultures come together. One such communion is between WWE and UFC, which are under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella. Triple H was recently in conversation with Logan Paul. During the segment in Paul’s podcast, Hunter mentioned the expectations bossman Dana White had of Zhang Weili bagging the title strap on home turf.

WWE and UFC are vastly different. More often than not, streamline combatants stutter while transitioning from one to another. While the former has a weekly grind and scripted entertainment value, UFC has a seasonal grind and appearances. Even Seth Rollins touched on this recently, as does Paul “Triple H” Levesque, better known by his ring moniker. As such, he told the story of Dana White’s attempt to make a star out of Zhang Weili.

I remember having a conversation with Dana a long time ago. We were at the ESPYs on the red carpet and [UFC] had just done the China Performance Institute... He was like, ‘Yeah, I know it’s an awesome time right now. I just have to get the Chinese girl to win on Saturday,’ because they had a pay-per-view, ‘If she wins, it’s awesome. If she doesn’t, it’s like I’m doomed.’ I was like, that’s the beauty of what we do — I know she wins in our sport!

Paul “Triple H” Levesque via the IMPAULSIVE podcast

In June 2019, Dana White and Co. opened a second UFC PI (performance institute) in China. The facility, UFC Performance Institute Shanghai, saw its face, Zhang Weili, notch her UFC Women’s Strawweight strap at UFC Fight Night 157 about two months later. However, ‘Triple H’ nudges White was in much angst, hoping Weili won her headliner bout. He also highlights that despite being similarly combat-centric, in WWE, they would have already known who’d come out victor.

‘Magnum’ Zhang faced Jéssica Andrade and snagged her gold via KO. Born in Handan, Hebei, China, it bolstered China to the forefront of MMA. The two-time champ similarly got to fight in Asia once again after COVID restrictions were lifted at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang. She rematched Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the event. But things could have been direly different.

UFC 300 Pre-fight Facts: Will Zhang Weili’s title affair put her country on the MMA forefront yet again?

UFC 300 is right around the corner. The landmark event is of a historic essence for many reasons. One is the All-Chinese title affair between current women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan. This marks the first all-China title bout in the promotion’s history.

UFC 300 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) takes shape this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Weili is on a three-fight win streak, with the last two being title fights against Amanda Lemos and Carla Esparza. At 24-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC, the fighter out of the Beijing Black Tiger team is quite the WMMA veteran. No. #2 in the latest women’s pound-for-pound rankings, she could take the first position with a win.

The Muay Thai practitioner meets an equally potent striker, Yan Xiaonan (15-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC). No. #5-ranking strawweight Xiaonan recently defeated former champ Jéssica Andrade and BJJ specialist Mackenzie Dern.

Recently, WWE’s head of creative ‘Triple H’ revealed how tensions were high during the Chinese phenom Weili’s 1st home turf bout at the Shenzhen Dayun Arena. She also represented the opening of the UFC PI in China, which was vastly different than the first one. Her current All-China title fight is to have some similar aftermath. According to DraftKings, Zhang Weili is a -325 betting favorite to the underdog. Come UFC 300, only time will tell who emerges victorious.

In case you missed it:

• “Hydrogen bomb vs Coughing baby” – Fans shocked as Zhang Weili obliterates Amanda Lemos with 288 strikes at UFC 292
• Zhang Weili Net Worth 2024: How rich is the first Chinese UFC champion?

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