- Shaquille O’Neal met the UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili
- O’Neal asked Weili to punch him and she eventually obliged
- Weili also managed to lift O’Neal off the ground
Zhang Weili stands at just 5’4″ and weighs only 115 lbs, but to say she packs a punch would be an understatement. Shaquille O’Neal can certainly attest to that after they met recently and the Chinese superstar even managed to lift the 300-pounder.
5'4" 115-lbs Zhang Weili punches and picks up Shaq🤣
She was the first Chinese UFC Championpic.twitter.com/P0C76ZFg00
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) September 30, 2023
Weili faked the punch at first, but O’Neal insisted she do it for real, and while it didn’t seem as if she put a lot of force into it, the 51-year-old certainly felt it. Her lifting a man who might just be three times her weight is so impressive too and shows exactly why she is such a great fighter.
This is not the first time she has lifted someone much heavier than her either. Last year, Weili lifted up former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, who claimed to be at 293 lbs at the time.
While she only lifted O’Neal a little bit, she managed to hold Ngannou for quite some time, which is remarkable. Her technique is just rock-solid.
Zhang Weili’s MMA Career
Weili began her MMA career in Kunlun Fight in 2013 but lost her first bout. She then proceeded to emerge victorious in her next 16 fights and won the KLF Women’s Strawweight Championship along the way.
She then signed with UFC in 2018 and won the Women’s Strawweight Championship a year later. She held the title for nearly two years, before losing it to Rose Namajunas in 2021. Just over a year later, though, she’d reclaim the title with a win over Carla Esparza.
Weili then successfully defended her title by beating Amanda Lemos in August earlier this year at UFC 292. The 34-year-old looks set now for another long reign as the champ.
Shaquille O’Neal Met Yao Ming At The Asian Games
Shaq seems to be having a great time in China, and Weili is the second Chinese superstar that he met this week. Recently, O’Neal and Yao Ming linked up in a video that went viral in an instant.
They met at the Asian Games, which are taking place in Hangzhou, China at the moment. Yao was present as the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, and O’Neal took the time to meet up with his old rival.
Ming, who stands at 7’6″, is one of the few men who can make even Shaq seem small and it was wonderful to see them together. I wish we could have seen more of O’Neal and Ming facing off on the court, but injuries meant the latter didn’t last too long in the NBA.
Yao only played eight seasons in the league before injuries forced him to retire in 2011. He managed to hold a 7-6 edge over O’Neal in the regular season on his retirement but did lose their only-ever meeting in the playoffs in 2004 by a margin of 4-1.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
