UFC Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili is expanding her career beyond the octagon, set to appear on both television and in film.
Recognized as a significant star and influential figure in her home country of China, the champion`s compelling life story will be adapted into a new drama series. The untitled project received approval from iQiYi, China`s largest streaming platform, with the announcement made at the Beijing International Film Festival. Production is anticipated to commence shortly.
Adding to her ventures, the 35-year-old fighter has also secured a notable acting role in a new feature film titled After Typhoon, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Li Yu.
This art-house drama casts Zhang as Ah Xi, a character described as “a woman with a tragic past whose life is turned upside down after she meets a young stranger on a storm-threatened island.”
Despite maintaining a demanding fight career, Zhang revealed she had never seriously considered acting before meeting director Li Yu and reading the script for the film, which prompted her to consider the opportunity.
Not at all. Never. It happened all of a sudden, and because it happened all of a sudden, I was initially against it. Especially because this isn’t a fight film, it’s not action. It’s a very emotional film, and I wasn’t really sure to start with how that might affect me.
I am comfortable fighting – that is my world. But digging into drama, into emotions, is so very different from what I usually do. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of taking on this challenge.
Interestingly, Zhang received the film script while preparing for her title defense against Yan Xiaonan at the landmark UFC 300 event. Although one might expect an acting debut to be a distraction, the two-time champion stated that focusing on something outside of fighting actually proved beneficial during that period.
I think it was actually very helpful in terms of helping me to relax. Usually, before a fight, we’re always only talking about the tactical stuff, about the fight itself, but we could actually have a discussion about the script, and forget for a little while about everything else. It was a very interesting thing to do.
Zhang successfully defended her title against Yan at UFC 300 and recently secured another impressive victory over previously undefeated Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312 in February.
Currently, Zhang`s next fight is not officially booked, though speculation suggests she might consider moving up to the flyweight division to challenge the winner of the upcoming UFC 315 co-main event between Valentina Shevchenko and Manon Fiorot.
While emphasizing that fighting remains her primary focus, Zhang acknowledged enjoying her first feature film experience and confirmed that acting is now something she would definitely consider for future opportunities.
My focus is back on training now, but who’s to say what will happen in the future? I think if a good role came along, whether it’s action or drama, I think now I’d take it.
Marcus Blakely