Chinese UFC champ back in Beijing

China's first UFC champion, Zhang Weili, completed her 14-day quarantine at a hotel in Tianjin and left for Beijing on Tuesday to resume training.

The 29-year-old was crowned China's first UFC champion in August. She then defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk in Las Vegas to retain her strawweight belt on March 7.

After being stranded in the United States for more than 40 days, she arrived in Tianjin on April 20.

Earlier, when Zhang was abroad, she was insulted on social media over the COVID-19 pandemic. But she responded without flinching.

"I insisted on advocating joint efforts in the fight against COVID-19," she said. "Unity for a shared future is the strongest immunity."

The US announced on Jan 31 that it would bar entry by most foreign nationals who had recently visited China. Consequently, Zhang went to Thailand on Feb 1 and then flew to Abu Dhabi before arriving in the US for the contest.

As Zhang's preparations for the bout were disrupted, Jedrzejczyk, a former five-time defending champion in the 115-pound division, had stirred controversy by posting a mock promotional poster on social media that depicted the Polish fighter standing behind Zhang and wearing a gas mask. The image was accompanied by laughing emojis.

Zhang's coolheaded advocacy of joint efforts against the coronavirus was applauded by international fans on social media.

During her quarantine in Tianjin, she trained in her single room using equipment provided by the sports bureau of Hexi district. And she spent time reading books on philosophy and studying English. She said she appreciates British philosopher Bertrand Russell and was reading a book of his.

"In essence, the Chinese martial arts are a kind of philosophy," she said.

Zhang was born in 1990 to a working family, in Handan, Hebei province. She has pursued martial arts since she was a child, and joined a martial arts school.

Because of an injury, she abandoned training for a time at the age of 17 and worked as a cashier and kindergarten teacher in Beijing.

In 2014, she returned to her beloved sports career and became a professional athlete.