Israel Adesanya and Zhang Weili have been so impressive in their runs to undisputed championship status that it’s easy to forget they will both be defending their titles for the first time Saturday.
“The Last Stylebender” did bring an interim title into his fight with Robert Whittaker, but it wasn’t until he knocked Whittaker out to unify their belts that it became abundantly clear he truly was the man to beat at 185 pounds.
Zhang was even more of an unknown property when she challenged Jessica Andrade for the strawweight title last August.