By The Numbers: Carla Esparza vs. Weili Zhang

No one knows the uneasiness associated with a title reign any better than Carla Esparza.

The two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s strawweight boss will defend her undisputed crown when she meets former titleholder Weili Zhang in the UFC 281 co-headliner on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Esparza has rattled off six straight victories, re-establishing herself as the woman to beat atop a cutthroat division. She reclaimed the strawweight championship on May 7, when she eked out a split decision over Rose Namajunas in their five-round clash at UFC 274. Zhang, meanwhile, rebounded from back-to-back losses to Namajunas at UFC 275, where she knocked Joanna Jedrzejczyk into retirement with a spinning backfist in the first round of their June 12 encounter. She has a pieced together a 6-2 record since she joined the UFC roster four-plus years ago.

As Esparza and Zhang creep toward their upcoming confrontation at 115 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:

35: Years of age for Esparza, who was born in Torrance, California, on Oct. 10, 1987.

11: Esparza wins by decision, accounting for 58% of her career total (19). The list of those she has outpointed in the UFC: Namajunas, Marina Rodriguez, Michelle Waterson-Gomez, Alexa Grasso, Virna Jandiroba, Cynthia Calvillo, Maryna Moroz and Juliana Lima. Esparza holds four other wins by knockout or technical knockout (21%) and four more by submission (21%).

44: Takedowns completed by Esparza as a UFC women’s strawweight, placing her first on the promotion’s all-time list at 115 pounds. Zhang ranks ninth with 13.

57: Rounds completed by Esparza as a professional mixed martial artist. She has gone the distance on 14 different occasions and carries an 11-3 mark in those bouts.

99: Combined victories between the six opponents—Jedrzejczyk, Tatiana Suarez, Claudia Gadelha, Randa Markos, Jessica Aguilar and Megumi Fujii—who have defeated Esparza. They boast a cumulative .743 winning percentage at 99-34-1.

33: Years of age for Zhang, who was born in Handan, China, on Aug. 13, 1989.

7: Zhang victories by submission, accounting for 32% of her career total (22). Her methods of choice: three armbars, three rear-naked chokes and one guillotine choke. Zhang owns 11 other victories by knockout or technical knockout (50%) and four more by decision (18%).

165: Significant strikes landed by Zhang in her five-round split decision over the aforementioned Jedrzejczyk in their unforgettable UFC 248 co-main event in March 2020. It established a personal high-water mark for “Magnum” that still stands.

40: Seconds needed for Zhang to dispose of Mei Huang with a rear-naked choke at a Chinese Kung Fu Championships show on Oct. 27, 2014. More than eight years later, it remains her fastest finish to date.

.732: Cumulative winning percentage between the two opponents—Namajunas (twice) and Meng Bo—who have beaten Zhang. They sport a combined record of 30-11.