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Zhang Weili, Asia's first UFC world champion, together with the creators of a critically acclaimed documentary about her rise from adversity, sat down with China.org.cn in Beijing on Nov. 23 to share their hopes behind making the film, "Unstoppable," as well as insights into how Zhang copes with life's challenges.

Following on from the successful 2020 documentary "Tough Out," director Xu Huijing found his next muse in Zhang, whose journey through adversity embodied an inspirational tale of resilience. Meanwhile, Zhang Weili and her coach and management team often faced dramatic, unpredictable challenges preparing for her next fight —  including some situations even screenwriters would struggle to invent. These experiences inspired them to consider a documentary. So, when the director reached out, they barely hesitated.

Xu said this new film, which was three years in the making, grew out of his previous documentary, "Tough Out," which followed underprivileged youth overcoming hardships through baseball. After making that film, he wanted to explore the world of professional athletes and see how his documentary approach could be applied to pro sports. 

"And there was another reason," the director revealed. "I'd also wanted to document another segment of Chinese society — those who transform their own destinies, even their entire family's trajectory, through relentless hard work."

The turning point came on April 24, 2021, in Jacksonville, Florida, when Rose Namajunas scored a KO victory over Zhang, the then UFC women's strawweight champion. The defeat plunged Zhang into a career and spiritual low. Yet for the director, this dramatic moment marked the perfect beginning of an extraordinary story.

"Unstoppable" also focuses on the relationship and intense interactions between Zhang Weili and her coach Cai Xuejun during their training sessions and the dark days when Zhang was trying to stage her comeback.

However, Zhang insists that such arguments rarely happen nowadays, and she views the disagreements as a form of communication that helped her and her team grow and overcome challenges. Ultimately, through self-reflection and honest dialogue with her inner self, she was able to make a breakthrough.

The MMA fighter also revealed that she initially felt uncomfortable and sometimes nervous when the camera followed her in her daily life, but gradually she got used to it. The film even captured a natural moment when she cared for an injured bird, demonstrating her charm and kindness.

Cao Zijian, the documentary's producer, said that "Unstoppable" aimed to show the more private side of Zhang Weili, revealing her as an ordinary person who quietly works hard. Despite her strong, determined public image, she can be emotional, and the film's goal was to authentically convey that even world champions are human — a vision that guided the documentary from the start.

Cao admitted that while the documentary genre faces commercial pressure in today's market, the team still felt a driving spirit and energy to complete the film."We still believed that a work like this, one that inspires people through sports, needed to be presented on a bigger stage and to wider audiences," he said.

Director Xu added that the biggest challenge when making the film actually came from himself, as he tried to push the boundaries of documentary filmmaking by applying feature film techniques for better storytelling. 

Since starting out, Xu has wanted to use documentary imagery to build bridges between groups. He noted that documentary is a medium — it needs to be shared and seen to communicate effectively — and his goal was to explore how combining sports, social issues and his filming approach could connect with audiences and inspire solutions.

A poster for "Unstoppable." [Image courtesy of Qianwanjian Pictures]

At the time of the interview, Zhang Weili had just returned from the United States after losing to Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 322. Moving up 10 pounds from strawweight to challenge for the flyweight title, she was dominated across five rounds, falling short of her goal to become the second female fighter to hold titles in two weight classes.

Zhang did not address the result of the fight, but she wanted to share her philosophy and advice with young people: "I just want to say: Don't put limits on yourself, and pursue what you love. If you make a little progress every day, you'll become the best version of yourself. Don't put yourself in a box, worrying if you can or how well you can do something. Don't deny yourself or defeat yourself before you even try. I believe that the biggest opponent in life is yourself. Be brave and push your own limits."

The athlete stressed that there are still many goals and challenges in her life that remain unfinished. "They haven't fully emerged yet, but what I need to do now is focus on handling my current tasks well. Whatever comes up, I'll work hard to tackle it and do each thing in front of me to the best of my ability — that's what I need to do now."