UFC: Zhang Weili wants to be ‘a legend like Bruce Lee’ 50 years after death
- Former UFC strawweight champion dreams of being remembered as fondly as martial arts icon, ‘who made Chinese kung fu known to the world’
- Zhang says losing belt to Rose Namajunas at UFC 261 ‘is what I must go through’ to become a legend
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.