Carla Esparza vs. Zhang Weili – Preview & Matchup Analysis

UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 12, 2022, in New York City, New York, USA. In one of the matchups on the fight card, Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza will take on Zhang “Magnum” Weili in the UFC Women’s Strawweight Title Bout. You can view the full UFC 281 card.

In this post, we will break down Carla Esparza vs. Zhang Weili matchup. Let’s take look at the fighter’s ages, their height, records, reach, fight stats, and more below ⤵

The 37-year-old, Carla Esparza is coming in with a 20-6-0 record. Esparza will be fighting for the first time since a win via split decision against Rose Namajunas at UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje in May.

Weili, meanwhile, is coming off a KO/TKO win against Joanna Jedrzejczyk on May 7, 2022 at UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Prochazka and holds a 22-3-0 record.

Carla Esparza has an orthodox fighting stance with a 63″ reach. The 35-year-old, Zhang Weili is an switch fighter with a 63″ reach. An orthodox fighter stands with their left side forward and jabs with their left hand, the southpaw fighter is the opposite, southpaw stands with their right side forward and jabs with their right hand. In most cases, orthodox fighters are right-handed, if you are left-handed, then you fight southpaw.

Carla Esparza:
→ Esparza’s striking accuracy is 40%.
→ Esparza lands 2.2 significant strikes per minute.
→ Esparza’s takedown accuracy is 35%.
→ Esparza’s takedown average is 3.25 per 15 minutes.
→ Esparza’s takedown defense is 47%.

Esparza comes in with 40% striking accuracy, typically landing about 2.2 significant strikes every minute. On the other side, Weili fires at 47% accuracy, landing about 5.78 significant strikes per minute. Carla Esparza also has a 35% takedown accuracy and on average gets around 3.25 takedowns every 15 minutes, compared to Weili’s 2.09 takedowns and 60% takedown accuracy.

Zhang Weili:
→ Weili’s striking accuracy is 47%.
→ Weili lands 5.78 significant strikes per minute.
→ Weili’s takedown accuracy is 34%.
→ Weili’s takedown average is 2.09 per 15 minutes.
→ Weili’s takedown defense is 60%.

Zhang spent on average 11:39 minutes in the Octagon and Carla has an average fight time of 14:31 minutes.

This looks like an entertaining matchup, at least on paper. UFC 281 is live in , who do you think will win, Carla or Zhang? Sound off in the comments.

You can view the scheduled UFC 281 fight card, upcoming UFC schedule 2021, and latest MMA news.