UFC Fight Night 157: Andrade vs Zhang - Odds and Predictions

Where: Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre Arena – Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

When: Saturday, August 31, 6AM EST

How (TV): ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass

(C) Jessica Andrade (20-6) vs Weili Zhang (19-1) – Women’s strawweight division

Only three months removed from winning her first UFC title in stunning fashion, women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade is set to make her first title defense against Weili Zhang this Saturday night. The fight will be the night’s main event and Andrade will have her hands full when it comes to dealing with the hometown favorite.

As previously mentioned, Andrade, 27, last fought on May 11 at UFC 237. Andrade took on Rose Namajunas for the strawweight title and defeated the former champion via a vicious knockout caused by a slam to the mat. The win was Andrade’s fourth victory in a row and her second in a row by KO. She had previously knocked out Karolina Kowalkiewicz in the first round of their fight at UFC 228.

The champion stands at 5 feet, 2 inches tall and has a reach of 62 inches. The Brazilian-born fighter trains out of Rio de Janeiro with the Panara Vale Tudo team. She has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Gilliard Panara. She has been active in mixed martial arts since 2011 and is ranked at number-15 in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings.

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A melhor maneira de nos prepararmos para o futuro é concentrar toda a imaginação e entusiasmo na execução perfeita do trabalho de hoje. ????❤️ . . The best way to prepare for the future is to focus all imagination and enthusiasm on the perfect execution of today’s work.????❤️ . ? @wallauercarine . . #ufcshenzhen #ufc #prvtnoufc #prvtgirls #vemvitória #campeã

A post shared by Jessica Andrade “Bate Estaca” (@jessicammapro) on Aug 26, 2019 at 5:13am PDT

Weili Zhang, 30, has not lost a fight since her mixed martial arts debut in 2013. Since that lone loss, Zhang has gone on to win 19 professional fights in a row – her last three being under the UFC banner. She has two decision victories and one submission in the UFC. Her last fight came on March 2 at UFC 235. There she fought Tecia Torres and defeated her via unanimous decision.

”Magnum” stands at 5 feet, 4 inches tall – two inches taller than the champion. Zhang will also have a one-inch reach advantage over Andrade in this fight. Born in China, Zhang fights out of Beijing with the Black Tiger Fight Club and her trainer Xuejun Cai. She possesses a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She has been active in MMA since 2013 and is currently ranked sixth in the UFC women’s strawweight division.

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Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (21-5) vs Li Jingliang (16-5) – Welterweight division

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, 32, has gone unbeaten in the UFC since losing his promotional debut back in 2016. Since that loss, dos Santos has won seven fights in a row. That winning streak includes victories over names such as Omari Akhmedov, Sean Strickland, and Max Griffin. Dos Santos had his last fight earlier this year on March 9. He fought Curtis Millender and defeated him via a first-round rear-naked choke submission.

”Capoeira” stands at 5 feet, 11 inches tall. He has a reach of 73 inches. The Brazilian fighter trains out of Curitiba with the CM System team. He is a former Jungle Fight welterweight champion in his home country. He has been active in MMA since 2009 and is ranked at number-14 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Li Jingliang, 31, fought three times in 2018 and went 2-1. He lost his first fight of that year but bounced back to win two in a row. The first against Daichi Abe which Jingliang won by unanimous decision. In his last fight, Jingliang fought David Zawada and earned a performance of the night bonus when he stopped Zawada with a kick to the body in the third round. This will be his first fight of 2019.

”The Leech” stands one inch taller than his opponent at an even 6 feet. He will have a one-inch disadvantage in the reach department, however. Born in China, Jingliang trains out of Beijing with China Top Team. He has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has been active in MMA since 2007.

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Kai Kara-France (19-7) vs Mark De La Rosa (11-2) – Flyweight division

Kai Kara-France, 26, has two fights under his belt since joining the UFC and he has won them both. He made his UFC debut on December 1, 2018 against Elias Garcia. Kara-France defeated Garcia via unanimous decision. His last fight came on February 9 of this year. He fought Raulian Paiva at UFC 234 and won the fight by split-decision.

”Don’t Blink” stands at 5 feet, 5 inches tall and will be one-inch shorter than his upcoming opponent. He has a reach of 66.5 inches which will give him a one and a half inch reach advantage over De La Rosa. Kara-France trains out of New Zealand with the team City Kickboxing. He is currently on a seven-fight win streak.

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This ain’t my first rodeo in China! Official poster! ??#teamdontblink?? #ufc #shenzhen #flyweight #china

A post shared by Kai “Dontblink” Kara France (@kaikarafrance) on Jul 16, 2019 at 4:27pm PDT

Mark De La Rosa, 24, had his last fight on March 30 of this year. He found himself on the losing end of a unanimous decision against Alex Perez in a bantamweight division bout. Prior to that loss, De La rosa had won two fights in a row – a split-decision victory at bantamweight and a submission victory in his flyweight debut. He is 2-2- in the UFC.

”Bumblebee” stands at 5 feet, 6 inches tall and has a reach of 65 inches. The American-born fighter trains out of Texas with the Factory X team. He has been a professional fighter since 2014 and is ranked number-14 in the UFC flyweight division.

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Zhenhong Lu (18-6) vs Movsar Evloev – Featherweight division

Zhenhong Lu, whose age is not listed, will be making his UFC debut this Saturday night as a last-minute replacement. His last recorded fight was on June 14 of this year at WLF’s W.A.R.S. 34 event. There, Lu fought Wilbert Huaman and defeated him in the third-round with a kimura submission. Lu also faced his opponent, Movsar Evloev, once before in 2015 at an M-1 Challenge event. Lu lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Featherweight Zhenhong Lu stands at 5 feet, 8 inches tall and his reach is unlisted. He is a China-born fighter affiliated with the Enbo Gedou gym. As previously mentioned, this will be his UFC debut.

Movsar Evloev, 25, is undefeated as a professional fighter. He was originally set to face Mike Grundy at this event but Grundy was forced to pull out due to injury. Evloev last fought on April 20 of this year in what was his UFC debut. Evloev fought Seung Woo Choi and defeated him via unanimous decision. Prior to the UFC, Evloev fought for the M-! promotion.

Movsar Evloev stands at 5 feet, 9 inches tall – one inch taller than Lu. He also has a reach of 72.5 inches. The Russian-born fighter trains with the Fight Club Nart team. He has three wins by knockout, four by submission, and four by decision.

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Yanan Wu (10-2) vs Mizuki Inoue (13-5) – Women’s flyweight division

Yanan Wu, 23, has gone 1-1 since joining the UFC in 2017. She lost her UFC debut via unanimous decision but bounced back to win her last fight. She last fought on November 11 of 2018 against Lauren Mueller. Wu won that fight in the first round by armbar submission.

”Mulan” stands at 5 feet, 9 inches tall and will stand five inches taller than her opponent on this card. She has a reach of 66 inches which will give her a two-inch reach advantage as well. Wu was born in China and has six wins by knockout, two by submission, and two by decision.

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. . . . An injury has removed Luana Carolina from #UFCShenzhen on 08/31. Stepping in to take her place against Wu Yanan [ @wuyananmulan ] is Mizuki Inoue [ @fightermizuki ] . A native of Aichi, Japan, “Mizuki” plied her trade under the all-women’s outfit for the past five years. Already an experienced veteran at 24, she has fought the likes of Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Alexa Grasso. Apart from this, she also challenged for the title last year opposite now-UFC fighter Virna Jandiroba. Her most-recent assignment came with a victory over Vivianne Pereira at Invicta FC 32. . Now entering the big league, Inoue moves up to flyweight with less than a month’s notice. She takes on China’s Wu Yanan following the injury of her initial opponent Carolina. For her part, “Mulan” will try to secure her second straight UFC victory after handing Lauren Mueller her first career defeat. . Source: @realfightph

A post shared by Joe Devlin @ MMAFNL (@mma_fightnightlive) on Aug 2, 2019 at 12:27pm PDT

Mizuki Inoue, 25, will be another fighter on this card making her UFC debut. She was previously fighting under the Invicta FC banner. Her last fight came on November 16, 2018 at Invicta FC 32. Inoue fought Viviane Pereira and defeated her by unanimous decision. Inoue is 5-1 in her last six fights.

Mizuki Inoue stands at 5 feet, 4 inches tall and has a reach of 64 inches. The Japanese fighter trains out of New York with trainer Ray Longo and the LAW MMA team. She has been active in MMA since 2010. She is a former Jewels Kickboxing grand-prix winner and former shoot boxing champion. She has a professional kickboxing record of 11-2.

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