UFC 281 is upon us. The card, set for New York’s famous Madison Square Garden, will host two title fights. The main event has the middleweight title on the line, but the co-main sees a clash between UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza and her challenger Zhang Weili.
Esparza was the UFC’s first ever strawweight champion, winning that title at the end of her run on The Ultimate Fighter season 20 (defeating Rose Namajunas in the finale) in 2014. Esparza quickly lost the title, though, and struggled to find her footing in the company for the next few years.