As the home of MMA leaders, the UFC Top Club has witnessed many meaningful victories, and last weekend, the highlight of the venue belonged to Yan Xiaonan, as well as to her coach, Zhang Tiequan, the first person in the UFC in China.
After a long and tortuous preparation and two months of running around the United States at the risk of the epidemic, Zhang Tiequan was finally able to relax for a moment. It was such a busy time that he had completely forgotten about this special day.
Eight years ago today, Zhang Tiequan completed his final battle as a UFC player in the octagon cage. Mentioning the anniversary, the "iron brother" who usually does not smile smiled happily and bent his eyes, and said slightly apologetically: "I really don't remember." ”
Originally from Inner Mongolia, Zhang Tiequan, nicknamed "Steppe Wolf", was the first player in China to sign a UFC, and in an era when Brazilian jiu-jitsu coaches were rare, Zhang Tiequan was the leader of Chinese power.
My first exposure to MMA was through watching UFC video, and that was the first time I'd seen such an enjoyable game, playing in an octagon cage. My idea was that one day I would be able to hit the UFC.
By chance, Zhang Tiequan signed with WEC in 2010 and then competed in the UFC. As the first Chinese to land on the octagonal cage, there has never been any previous experience to learn from, and everything Zhang Tiequan faces is unknown.
I didn't have too many concerns at the time, it was a competitive sport, I was practicing sports since I was a child, I had been engaged in competitive sports for so many years, I could enter a more enjoyable sports event, and I liked it very much, so I didn't have fear or worry.
When I went to the United States to play at the age of 33, my goal was definitely to get good results, I didn't think too much about it, and I was focused on training and competition. Although I was older at the time, many UFC champions transitioned from wrestling, judo and other sports, and many of them played UFC in their thirties.
Zhang Tiequan played a total of four games in the UFC. On November 10, 2012, as the only Chinese player, he landed in the first UFC China main tournament in history to meet rookie Jon Tucker in Macau. Although it did not win, the excitement of the game made Kang Lee, the Sanda star who led the headline battle of the night, full of praise, "The game was so wonderful, I was fascinated by it when I warmed up backstage, which was the best game of the night in my heart." ”
The "SteppeWolves" defended the final glory of the fighters with a bloody performance, which was the end of Zhang Tiequan's beloved UFC career, but this day was also the starting point of UFC China.
After the Macau match, Zhang Tiequan's position was shifted from the octagonal cage to the octagonal cage, and his focus gradually shifted from a player to a coach and team leader. Because of his love for MMA career, and because he was the first to break into the UFC, he knew the loneliness and powerlessness of no team to rely on, Zhang Tiequan founded the Boxing World CTT Club known as China's fighting "Whampoa Military Academy" in 2009, and excellent MMA players such as Li Jingliang and Yan Xiaonan were from the Boxing World Team.
Although life is not far away from the octagonal cage, Zhang Tiequan has always been obsessed with the last UFC game that has not yet been completed.
After the Macau match, I had a crushing fracture of my finger, and while recuperating from my injury, I also had to take care of the management of the club, during which time my weight soared, and it was not good to lose weight.
I also have a strong feeling in my heart now, I can fight! After the Macau match, I didn't say retired, I haven't retired!
Compared with the coach with a big package, Zhang Tiequan still enjoys being a pure player.
I was more nervous than the athletes off the field, more tired than playing by myself, hard work!
In order to help Yan Xiaonan fully prepare for the former grassweight champion challenger Gadha, the team came to the United States in September to assemble, but because of the injury of the opponent and the postponement of the game, everyone had to go around in the United States for two months, but the victory at the weekend paid off all the hard work.
It was on the eighth anniversary of Zhang Tiequan's UFC final battle that Yan Xiaonan was officially ranked third in the UFC grassweight, from Zhang Tiequan to Li Jingliang to Yan Xiaonan, the dream of the championship of the boxing team is getting closer and closer. For the next potential duel with grassweight champion Zhang Weili, Zhang Tiequan is very calm.
I think everything depends on the arrangement of the UFC, the opportunity to challenge the golden belt, you can also play with Joanna.
This is a competitive sport, and as long as the two players play normally, they can compete for each other. The UFC gold belt is contested by two Chinese, which makes perfect sense. From the perspective of the development of MMA in China, this is a profound thing.
In recent years, China's MMA has undergone earth-shaking changes, and as a witness and practitioner, Zhang Tiequan also sighed.
From the coach's point of view, I think china's MMA is developing very rapidly, last year UFC opened an elite training center in Shanghai, and now there are more and more Brazilian jiu-jitsu experts and mixed martial arts experts from all over the world in China, and UFC publicity is becoming more and more popular. Overall, MMA in China has developed quite rapidly.
I believe that China will be able to produce a champion, I started practicing Sanda, and our country's Sanda is very strong. I believe that Sanda athletes with a little more ground ability will soon have a chance to compete for the championship. If more professional Sanda athletes join the MMA, the Chinese MMA will soon be able to go further.
I feel very relieved to see that Chinese athletes continue to grow and develop, better seedlings continue to emerge, and more outstanding athletes continue to join the UFC, and the Chinese MMA will definitely move forward.
In the nearly ten years since Zhang Tiequan first boarded the octagonal cage, China's MMA has roared forward like a high-speed train. All of us who love the sport believe that the front of this train must be better.