UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou sent a message of support to Weili Zhang following her UFC 261 title loss to Rose Namajunas.

Zhang lost her belt to Namajunas when she suffered a first-round head kick KO loss at UFC 261. It was a tough night at the office for Zhang, who was fighting for the first time in over a year since her split decision win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk. While she was able to go the full 25 minutes that night, this fight was not the same as Zhang was put out quickly in the first round. It was a tough loss for the Chinese champion, but knowing Zhang, she will be back at the gym Monday morning and getting ready to make another run for the belt.

After seeing Zhang suffer the loss, Ngannou took to his social media to offer a message of hope to the fallen champion. Check out what the new UFC heavyweight champion wrote on his Twitter in response to seeing Zhang lose her 115lbs belt to Namajunas at UFC 261.

https://twitter.com/francis_ngannou/status/1386329596728156161

Francis Ngannou: I also want to say keep your head up champ @MmaWeili. You are at the top of the top not only in your division but in all women mma but it happens in sports when the best cross path. You will be back stronger I have no doubts.

Ngannou himself has dealt with the highs and lows of this sport. “The Predator” suffered a one-sided loss to former champion Stipe Miocic in 2018 and lost to Derrick Lewis in a dud before rebounding with five-straight knockout wins to become the new champion. Zhang obviously has an uphill climb herself now after losing to Namajunas, but knowing how committed she is to the sport, there is no doubt she will try to get back to the top.

What do you think is next for Weili Zhang after losing her strap to Rose Namajunas at UFC 261?