Former UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili left 293lb Francis Ngannou speechless by picking him up off the floor with ease.
Weili, 33, looks to win back her 115lb title next weekend when she fights current champion Carla Esparza in the co-main event of UFC 281 in New York. Despite competing at the lightest weight class in the UFC, Weili showed off her astonishing strength for her size by lifting up heavyweight champion Ngannou and balancing him on her shoulder when the pair crossed paths at the UFC's Performance Institute.
"I can't believe that Zhang Weili just picked me up like I wasn't 293lbs," Ngannou wrote. "I didn't want her to do it I was scared of her hurting her back and was trying to explain this to her....then found myself suddenly up in the air. Her strength ratio is through the roof."
What are your thoughts on Francis Ngannou being lifted up by Zhang Weili? Let us know in the comments section.
Fans have since reacted to the clip, with one user writing: "She was in the perfect position hip to shoulder, she just rolled him on her." Another user pointed out it was the same lift that Ngannou did when he met former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, commenting: "She just did to him what he did to Shaq. This is more impressive strength wise though."
A third added: "This is why you can't sleep on women's sports! Her knees didn't even shake," with more insisting that Weili is the best athlete in the UFC: "Holy s***. Would anyone disagree that she is the best athlete in the UFC? I've always rated her highly, but this is off the charts."
Weili last knocked out Joanna Jedrzejczyk in June to set up a fight with Esparza, leaving her rival face-first on the canvas by way of a brutal spinning backfist. 'Magnum' lost her strawweight title to Rose Namajunas last April and came up short in her efforts to win it back when the pair fought for a second time later that year.
Ngannou is almost 30lb over the UFC heavyweight limit as he continues to recover from a knee injury he suffered before his last fight against former training partner Ciryl Gane in January. The Cameroonian went into the fight with several injuries to his knees that were only worsened by going 25-minutes with Gane.
With his contractual status still up in the air, Ngannou's UFC future is uncertain. He will be free to leave the UFC at the end of this year if he does not re-sign with the promotion, with his fight against Gane marking the last on his contract.
