UFC CEO Dana White says strawweight champion Zhang Weili could move up to challenge women's flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko after her UFC 312 win.
Zhang defended the 115-pound title with a dominant victory over Tatiana Suarez in Saturday's co-main event in Sydney, Australia. The performance sparked interest in a superfight against Shevchenko throughout the MMA community, with many saying it should be next.
"It's a possibility," White said of a Shevchenko-Zhang matchup at the postfight press conference, according to MMA Junkie. "It's a possibility."
Shevchenko is No. 1 in the women's pound-for-pound rankings and Zhang is just behind at No. 2. When asked who he thinks belongs in the top spot, White said: "I f-----g hate answering these questions, because I love them both. Maybe we'll just have to find out."
Zhang defended the belt for the third time of her second reign and the fourth time overall. The 35-year-old Chinese fighter reclaimed the title with a win over Carla Esparza in 2022 and has since beaten Amanda Lemos, Yan Xiaonan, and now Suarez, who was a betting favorite heading into the fight.
Shevchenko recently became a two-time champion herself. The 36-year-old dominated Alexa Grasso in a trilogy bout at UFC 306 last September to regain the 125-pound title. Shevchenko lost the belt to Grasso in March 2023 and then fought the Mexican to a draw that September.
Zhang addressed the potential fight with Shevchenko, saying it will materialize if the "timing" is right.
"Let's talk with Dana later," Zhang said through an interpreter, according to MMA Junkie. "But I think everything is about timing. So if there is a good time for both of us to make this fight happen, it happens."
