Zhang Weili rose up in the UFC’s strongest women’s division — now Mackenzie Dern rules the weakest

Zhang Weili’s shadow will loom large over the worst weight class after UFC 321

The October 25 championship co-headliner came together after confirmation that Weili will challenge Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322 for the flyweight belt.

That’s now one of the most anticipated fights remaining in 2025, as the strawweight legend looks to secure an achievement that will move her closer to rivaling ‘Bullet’ and Amanda Nunes for women’s GOAT status.

Unfortunately, ‘anticipated’ is not a term that could be used to describe the first 115-pound title fight since the Chinese star’s departure was announced. During UFC 321 fight week, Din Thomas caused a stir with his latest take, as he branded Dern vs Jandiroba 2 the most “insignificant” championship bout of all time.

It is worth noting that, no, it was not the most insignificant title fight. But the word “most” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there…

The reason why Thomas was not totally wrong is that Dern and Jandiroba fought for a belt that was let go by a woman leaps and bounds above them in terms of skill. That also applies to the rest of the division, which is significantly weaker than the strawweight roster that Weili rose up in a number of years ago.

The division was unrivaled as the leader on the UFC women’s roster in 2020, a year in which a battle at 115 pounds immortalized itself as one of the best fights in history. After Weili beat Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a five-round thriller at UFC 248, the division had big names, former champions, future queens, legends, and worthy contenders.

Now, it does not.

Dern pitched Tatiana Suarez as her first challenger after UFC 321. A number of years ago, the return of an inactive Suarez was seen as something that would boost an already strong roster. But after her first career loss against Weili this year, the American has gone from a woman touted as the biggest threat to ‘Magnum’ to another strawweight who can’t hold a candle to the former two-time champ.

It is safe to say that not a single name in the current strawweight top 15 would be expected to stand a chance against Weili. Because of that, the Chinese star’s flyweight shadow will be looming large over Dern’s reign, making any title bout a fight for second place in the eyes of most.

Both flyweight and bantamweight have surpassed the UFC strawweight division

Even before Weili debuts in the weight class, the flyweight division has moved well clear of the 115-pound roster. But there’s a strong case that bantamweight now sits above strawweight too.

Sure, the 135-pound division remains top-heavy. And beyond those names high up the ladder, there is a real absence of exciting prospects and entertainers. But bantamweight has two crucial things that strawweight does not — a dominant champion and a highly anticipated title fight.

We all love a competitive weight class, but even the worst divisions can survive with an imposing king or queen. After Kayla Harrison submitted Julianna Pena with ease this past June, she became exactly that. And now, the two-time Olympic champion has a huge hurdle in front of her that has fans licking their lips.

The legendary Amanda Nunes.

What does strawweight have in comparison? A new champion who nobody would pick to beat her predecessor, and three top contenders whom Weili beat.

You almost have to feel sorry for the strawweights ‘Magnum’ has left behind as she moves up to pursue further greatness. It’s not their fault that she was simply well clear in terms of quality. Unfortunately, that’s resulted in a weight class that has been drastically weakened and left void of intrigue.

The silver lining? If any women’s division is going to recover from this kind of blow, it is strawweight. With prospects like Iasmin Lucindo, Denise Gomes, and Alexia Thainara rising through the ranks, the future could still be bright.

But the weight class may need them to break through as legitimate title contenders sooner than expected, or else we could be set for the strawweight dark ages.