Zhang Weili is following in the footsteps of the likes of Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev by vacating her strawweight title in order to pursue a new title challenge up a division.

The 36-year-old Weili will leave the 115lb division behind in order to fight current flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 15th.

Weili is a two-time strawweight champion whose current five-fight winning streak includes three successful defenses of the belt against Amanda Lemos, Yan Xiaonan and Tatiana Suarez after initially winning the belt by submitting Carla Esparza.

Now Weili faces a new challenge as she takes on another decorated veteran in the 37-year-old Shevchenko, who has twice held the flyweight title, amassing a total of eight successful defenses in the process.

Seven of those came during her first title reign before an upset loss to Alexa Grasso in March of 2023, followed by a split draw in their subsequent rematch, but Shevchenko then got back on form with a decisive decision win in their trilogy clash last September, and she’s since defended the belt against Manon Fiorot a few months ago.

Weili vs Shevchenko serves as the lead-in to a UFC 322 main event that’ll see welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena lock horns with former lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev.