Zhang Weili is a well-known admirer of Bruce Lee, but the former UFC strawweight champion has revealed she dreams of being remembered as a “legend” long after her death like him.
The star of Enter The Dragon and Game of Death, Hong Kong martial arts icon Lee is credited as the “grandfather of MMA”, with his jeet kune do style drawing from different combat disciplines.
Lee was also credited with changing the way Asians were depicted in film and television, before his premature death at the age of 32, and “Magnum” Zhang – the first Chinese champion in the UFC – hopes to leave a similar lasting legacy in the Octagon.
“It’s not easy to become a legend, this is what I must go through,” Zhang told the My Bronze Age mini-documentary on Chinese streaming platform Tencent QQ.
“What counts as a legend? I think Bruce Lee is a legend. I think he made Chinese kung fu known to the world. People still mourn and pay respect to him many years after his death.
“I think that makes a legend. I also think that being a good example for children makes a legend too.”
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Asked what her “biggest dream now” is, Zhang said: “Fifty years after I’m gone, people still know who Zhang Weili is, know what kind of person I was.”
Zhang added that before, her goal was simply to become UFC champion, but now it has changed after losing the belt to Rose Namajunas at UFC 261 in July.
“I will plan out a long trajectory for my career,” she said. “You will have success and failure. You can’t always succeed. So my goal right now is growth – success or failure, win or lose, this is just my process, the process to become a legend.
“I will not deviate off my real track because of this one loss. My track is right here. I only have to follow it up. I keep learning and improving. That’s it.”
