Zhang felt like 'a refugee trying to leave' after coronavirus outbreak

Zhang Weili's travel for UFC 248 was more chaotic than anticipated.

The UFC strawweight champion, who defends her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk on March 7 in Las Vegas, had to leave her home country of China early due to the coronavirus outbreak. She and her team spent a week in Thailand before relocating to Abu Dhabi for the remainder of her camp.

"The whole experience was like a refugee trying to leave," Zhang told ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

Coronavirus has infected more than 83,000 people worldwide and has killed more than 2,800 people as of Friday. There have been 2,788 deaths in China, according to Al Jazeera.

Zhang left for Thailand on Feb. 1, and she said the process was fairly smooth because she knew two coaches there. But the champion grew frustrated after finding out she had to go to Abu Dhabi on Feb. 7.

"I was suddenly told that I had to leave (Thailand), which made me really emotional," Zhang said. "But I understood that the UFC must have prepared the best plan for us, so I followed the instructions and left."

"Magnum" was granted a U.S. visa on Feb. 18, according to MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz, and she arrived in Las Vegas on Feb. 21, per Okamoto.

Her title defense against Jedrzejczyk will serve as the co-main event for UFC 248. The event features a middleweight title fight between champion Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero.