Zhang Weili (top) of China and Carla Esparza of the United States compete during their women's strawweight title bout at the UFC 281 in Madison Square Garden in New York, the United States, Nov. 12, 2022. China's first UFC champion Zhang Weili reclaimed women's strawweight champion with a second-round submission on Carla Esparza at UFC 281 on Saturday night. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced on Tuesday that reigning women's strawweight champion Zhang Weili of China will defend her title against Brazil's Amanda Lemos in Boston on August 19.

As the co-main event of UFC 292, headlined by the bantamweight title fight between titleholder Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley, Zhang will have her first defense of her second title reign.

Zhang became China's first-ever UFC World Champion after a first-round knockout of Jessica Andrade in 2019, but she then lost twice to Rose Namajunas after one title defense. In November 2022, Zhang reclaimed the women's strawweight champion against two-time titleholder Carla Esparza at UFC 281.

35-year-old Lemos has a record of 13-2-1 with eight KOs and three submissions. Known as a powerful striker, Lemos had a stunning five-fight winning streak between 2019 and 2021. Following a headliner loss against former champion Andrade, Lemos bounced back with two straight wins and earned a shot at the title with a fourth-placed ranking in the category.

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