On 27 February 2011, Chinese players appeared for the first time in the UFC octagonal cage at Sydney's Acer Arena Dome. "Steppewolf" Zhang Tiequan walked into the arena as the "first person in China's UFC", and after the bell rang for 48 seconds, he stunned Jason Reinhardt with a guillotine and made a stunning appearance in front of the world. Since then, the octagonal cage has had a place for Chinese boxers.
More than 3,600 days and nights have passed, from the collective rise of China's power to Zhang Weili becoming the first yellow-skinned UFC world champion, everything begins with Zhang Tiequan. As one of the first Chinese mixed martial artists, Zhang Tiequan was unable to reach the top due to age and age constraints. But as a pioneer and pioneer, he has accompanied China through the most exciting 10 years in history.
Tracing the historical origins of the UFC, the name of a Chinese hero is often mentioned. Bruce Lee's boxing idea of "taking the impossible as the law, taking the infinite as the limit, abandoning the prejudice of the sect, and striving for freedom and freedom" directly influenced the modern mixed martial arts movement, and Bai Dana openly called Bruce Lee the "father of MMA".
But in the octagonal cage, Chinese boxers have been absent for a long time, and the spark of the Chinese MMA was not really ignited until 2005. In November 2005, Zhang Tiequan, who had been practicing Sanda for six years, played his first mixed martial arts event, and it took only 1 and a half minutes to subdue Zhao Yunfei with "naked hanging".
Five years later, as the best of China's first MMA players, he signed to the UFC's WEC Iron Cage tournament with a record of 16 total victories. Although it had passed the age of establishment, the flame in Zhang Tiequan's heart was hotter than ever.
I signed with WEC in 2010 and I was very excited when I got it. I had been engaged in mixed martial arts for 5 years, my dream was to participate in the UFC, and I was very confident in myself!
On October 1, 2010, Zhang Tiequan made his debut at the "1stBank" stadium in Colorado, facing The 10-game winner Garza, Zhang Tiequan subdued his opponent with a "guillotine" in less than 3 minutes, and the "steppe wolves" roared in the sky after the game to celebrate the historic victory.
Two months later, on December 17, Zhang Tiequan played at WEC for the second time, losing to "KO Machine" Danny Denns in three rounds in Phoenix, USA. Soon, however, he was back in the line of winners and won the real UFC first victory.
Reinhardt, the opponent of the first UFC, was going to arrange to play with me at WEC, but he didn't make it. He kept saying he could beat me, so we ran into each other again at the UFC. After winning the first UFC victory, that mood is indescribable.
Zhang Tiequan's victory in the octagonal cage gradually heated up the UFC in China, but at this time he encountered a bottleneck. To gain a foothold in the world's top arenas, it takes extraordinary talent, scientific training system and perseverance, and Zhang Tiequan has only one perseverance.
Zhang Tiequan's wife, Mao Mao, does not consider Zhang Tiequan to be The most talented fighter in China.
In fact, Tie quan is not a particularly talented person, and his height, arm span, and strength are not particularly prominent. But he's very persistent, the type of person who buries his head in hard work after setting a goal. With perseverance, he has achieved what he has today.
I learn things slowly, my comprehension is not strong, there is no way, I can only practice more. When I played 70 kg at WEC, I was much smaller than others, and they suggested that I play 66 kg so that I didn't suffer losses. At that time, dehydration and weight loss were not understood, mainly by running. Every day before training, I ran 10,000 meters, then ate less and drank less, and after training, I didn't eat until the next day. It was ok at first, but then I couldn't eat it, and I got older.
On October 9, 2011, UFC 136, Zhang Tiequan was in poor form in featherweights, losing points to Darren Elgins. Years of fighting caused Zhang Tiequan to have old wounds on his elbow and knee, and the doctor suggested surgery, but he refused. Because he knew that the age of thirty could not withstand a long rest. On February 26, 2012, Zhang Tiequan suffered one of the worst defeats of his career. Inside the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, the "steppe wolf" fell under Tamura's two right fists, and the eardrum of his left ear ruptured.
At that time, I lost 66 kilograms and was about to faint, and I couldn't stand. And it was played very early, I got up at 3-4am to prepare and went to the field because I was the first game in the vice- In the first round I knocked Tamura down with a punch on his forehead, and I pounced on it and slipped myself. I thought I had to ko him in the second round and stare at him during the break of the round.
Zhang Tiequan did not expect that the scene of him crouching alone by the side of the iron cage between rounds detonated the network years later. There was no coaching, no one to deliver water, he just stared at his opponent, hoping to find a chance to win. Zhang Tiequan at this moment interprets what is called a lone hero.
In fact, my coach and team went to Japan, I don't know what the reason, the coach came up with the bucket and stool when the security guard was stopped, I was also very strange, I had to crouch by myself at the edge of the cage. I played a lot of games, and the beautiful matches were not hot, but I didn't expect this scene to turn red.
After successive defeats, Zhang Tiequan realized that the featherweight was not suitable for him and returned to the 70 kg class. On November 10, 2012, UFC ON FUEL TV6 was held at the Cotai Arena in Macau, which can accommodate 15,000 people, which was the first time that the UFC entered China and the first time that Zhang Tiequan played on home as a main contestant against Guam's "Super Saiyan" Joan Tucker.
During the game, Zhang Tiequan was injured in the eye by the opponent, and when he saw that the opponent had three figures, he stared at the middle of the fight, and hit the opponent many times. In the end, Tucker was still a skilled player and won the points. In addition to swallowing the bitter fruit of three consecutive defeats, Zhang Tiequan also fractured the thumb of his left hand because of excessive force. This injury also caused Zhang Tiequan to gradually leave the arena. That was the last time he appeared in the boxing fan's field of vision as an athlete.
After the injury, my main energy was invested in the players, to expand the operation of the boxing gym, and to socialize more. Out of normal training, mainly weight loss can not continue, but I can lose to 80 kilograms and want to continue to play.
In 2012, the WEBSITE OF MOMAMANIA ranked the top 10 MMA boxing gyms in Asia, and the "Boxing World" boxing gym created by Zhang Tiequan ranked fourth. Li Jingliang, Zhang Weili, Yan Xiaonan, Ning Guangyou, Song Kenan, and others who later fought in the UFC all have a relationship with the "Boxing World". However, the operation of the boxing gym was more difficult than Zhang Tiequan imagined, and he invested all his savings and inevitably lost money.
In order to find a cheap location, Zhang Tiequan and Mao Mao walked around Beijing, drove to vomit, and eventually moved from Wudaokou to a small house of more than 100 square meters in Sihui. At that time, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang Tiequan lived in a two-bedroom dormitory with Li Jingliang, who had not yet signed a UFC contract, and two young athletes, Bayindalai.
I hope to help more Chinese boxers on the world stage. The first time I met Li Jingliang, I was touched by his will quality. At that time, he played hero list competitions, only practiced wrestling and sanda for a year, and the opponents were Russian Sangbo and Muay Thai champions. I thought he would soon be knocked down when he went up. Unexpectedly, he carried two rounds, and in the third round, he counterattacked and beat his opponent to no climb. Fighting is a fierce project, the quality of will is not good, and the technique is useless. I think Li Jingliang is a good piece of material.
Now Li Jingliang has reached the 12th place in the sub-middleweight, and his teammate Yan Xiaonan has entered the top three of the grassweight.
Yan Xiaonan is my sister-in-law and a student of Teacher Zhao Xuejun of Xi'an Sports Academy. She practiced Sanda and won places in national competitions. After retiring from the army, she came to Beijing, where she lived not far from the boxing world, and once she came to train, she knew that I opened the museum. I saw that she was practicing well, so I asked her if she wanted to take a career path. Yan Xiaonan gave up everything and became the first Chinese female boxer to sign a UFC contract.
In the past, I was nervous when I played the game myself, but I was more nervous when I played with Li Jingliang and Yan Xiaonan. Because you play the game regardless of whether you win or lose, you can just perform well. But when I watch them play on the pitch, I always worry about where they don't play well, make mistakes, lose games. They are all ranking well now and I'm sure they will get better and better in the future.
In the past ten years, Zhang Tiequan has witnessed the development of UFC in China and silently influenced more people in his own way.
In the past, the attention of the UFC was not so great, and people's thinking has been changing for so many years, and mixed martial arts has become more and more popular. In 2017, UFC came to China, played in China for 3 consecutive years, and also established PI in Shanghai. Blessed are today's young people, as long as they grit their teeth, use their brains, and are willing to work hard, they can step onto the stage of the UFC.
Although there have been failures and hardships, Zhang Tiequan always smiled when talking about UFC, revealing a mouthful of white teeth and squinting eyes shining.
The biggest enjoyment is that I'm doing what I love.