Daniel Cormier in awe of Zhang Weili’s dominant win at UFC 312

Daniel Cormier was shocked to see strawweight champion Zhang Weili an underdog vs. Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312.

Weili (26-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) proved the oddsmakers wrong after dominating Suarez (11-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in a unanimous decision win in Saturday’s co-main event at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

Outside of getting taken down early in Round 1, Weili was able to fend off Suarez’s grappling and batter her for the rest of the fight. Weili also had over 10 minutes of control time against the standout wrestler.

“In the co-main event, Zhang Weili again proves why she is the best,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I mean, she dominated Tatiana Suarez. She went into that fight as (an underdog). I don’t know how anyone bets against this woman, when what she has put on paper in terms of her resume, the people she has beaten, and the way she has beaten them. I don’t know how you can make Zhang Weili that big of an underdog based on the fact that you believe she will not be able to defend takedowns against Tatiana Suarez.”

Cormier thinks the betting odds likely swayed in Suarez’s favor due to Weili’s two losses to Rose Namajunas more than three years ago. She was taken down twice and controlled on the ground in the rematch at UFC 268. But Weili since has won five straight fights.

“Rose Namajunas took her down a few years ago and held her down, but Rose Namajunas presents a very different striking threat than Tatiana Suarez presents,” Cormier said. “Rose Namajunas also was a champion that has been in five-round fights. Tatiana Suarez showed unbelievable toughness. She is as tough as any woman you’ll ever meet walking God’s green earth, but she got dominated.

“Weili hurt her on the feet, Weili took her down with an inside trip, Weili reversed the position when she got taken down. Outside of the first two and a half, three minutes of the fight, when Tatiana got the first takedown, the moment she jumped that guillotine, her fate was sealed because rest of the time, it was all Zhang Weili all the time.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 312.