Zhang Tiequan

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhang.
Zhang Tiequan
Born (1978-07-25) July 25, 1978 (age 45)
Inner Mongolia, China
Native name张铁泉
Other namesThe Wolf
NationalityChinese
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
DivisionWelterweight
Lightweight
Featherweight
Reach69.0 in (175 cm)
Fighting out ofBeijing, China PR
TeamBlack Tiger Team
China Top Team
TrainerZhao Xuejun[1]
Rank  Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
  Black Sash in Sanshou
Master of Sports in Sanshou
Master of Sports in Mongolian wrestling
Years active2005–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total19
Wins15
By knockout3
By submission12
Losses4
By knockout1
By decision3
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: November 10, 2012

Zhang Tiequan, or Zhang Tie Quan (Chinese: 张铁泉; pinyin: Zhāng Tiěquán, born July 25, 1978), often anglicized to Tiequan Zhang, is a Chinese mixed martial artist, who last competed as a Lightweight in the UFC. A professional competitor since 2005, Tiequan spent most of the beginning of his career fighting in the Art of War Fighting Championship in his native China, until he signed with WEC in the United States. He is notable for being the first fighter from China to be signed to the UFC and the first to win a bout with the promotion.[1]

Background[edit]

Zhang began training in martial arts and Mongolian wrestling[2] as a child and won the Inner Mongolian Wrestling Championships at the age of 16. After this, he was recruited to fight at one of China's top Sanshou academies where he was under the tutelage of Sanda coach, Zhao Xuejun.[1] In 2005, Zhao convinced Zhang to move to MMA making him one of the earliest professional MMA fighters in China.[1]

Zhang is also China's first-ever brown belt and black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.[3]

Mixed martial arts career[edit]

Early career[edit]

When the Art of War Fighting Championship, China's largest mixed martial arts organization, was founded in 2005, the company's founder Andy Pi invited a number of fighters from Zhang's academy to fight there. Zhang then took up mixed martial arts and won his first thirteen fights, over a five-year period, all by knockout or submission.[4]

World Extreme Cagefighting[edit]

In August 2010, Zhang joined World Extreme Cagefighting, one of the largest mixed martial arts organizations in North America. He was expected to make his WEC debut against Alex Karalexis at WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan in September 2010.[5] However, Karalexis was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Jason Reinhardt.[6] Reinhardt was then also forced from the card after failing a prefight eye exam and replaced by Pablo Garza.[7] Zhang won the fight via submission in the first round.

Zhang then fought Danny Downes on December 16, 2010 at WEC 53: Henderson vs Pettis, the WEC's last ever event before merging with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.[8] Zhang tasted defeat for the first time, losing via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).

Ultimate Fighting Championship[edit]

On October 28, 2010, WEC merged with the UFC. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.[9]

For his UFC debut, Zhang dropped down to Featherweight and faced Jason Reinhardt on February 27, 2011 at UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch.[10] Zhang showed accurate counters in the first few moments of the fight before eventually attempting a guillotine choke which led to a submission victory just 48 seconds into the first round.

Zhang fought Darren Elkins on October 8, 2011 at UFC 136, and lost the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26).[11] Zhang repeatedly attempted unsuccessful guillotine chokes which left him on his back where he was unable to scramble and received punches and elbows for the majority of the bout.

Zhang was expected to face Leonard Garcia on February 26, 2012 at UFC 144.[12] However, Garcia was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Issei Tamura.[13] He lost the fight via KO in the second round.

Zhang returned to Lightweight is expected to face Jon Tuck in Macau on November 10, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 6.[14] He lost via unanimous decision in a back-and-forth fight.

The Ultimate Fighter: China[edit]

In November 2013, it was announced that Zhang would serve as one of the coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: China, the China-based version of The Ultimate Fighter which began airing in December 2013.[15]

Mixed martial arts record[edit]

Professional record breakdown
19 matches 15 wins 4 losses
By knockout 3 1
By submission 12 0
By decision 0 3
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 15–4 Jon Tuck Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le November 10, 2012 3 5:00 Macau, SAR, China Return to Lightweight.
Loss 15–3 Issei Tamura KO (punch) UFC 144 February 26, 2012 2 0:32 Saitama, Japan
Loss 15–2 Darren Elkins Decision (unanimous) UFC 136 October 8, 2011 3 5:00 Houston, Texas, United States
Win 15–1 Jason Reinhardt Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 127 February 27, 2011 1 0:48 Sydney, Australia Featherweight debut.
Loss 14–1 Danny Downes Decision (unanimous) WEC 53 December 16, 2010 3 5:00 Glendale, Arizona, United States
Win 14–0 Pablo Garza Submission (guillotine choke) WEC 51 September 30, 2010 1 2:26 Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Win 13–0 Daniel Digby Submission (neck crank) Legend Fighting Championship 2 June 24, 2010 1 0:30 Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong Welterweight bout.
Win 12–0 Caloy Baduria Submission (armbar) URCC 15: Onslaught November 21, 2009 1 4:21 Pasay, Philippines
Win 11–0 Yonglong Zhu Submission (kimura) Ultimate Martial Arts Combat April 18, 2009 1 1:06 Beijing, China
Win 10–0 Arthit Hanchana Submission (triangle choke) Xian Sports University: Ultimate Wrestle January 10, 2009 2 2:46 Guangzhou, China
Win 9–0 Caloy Baduria Submission (guillotine choke) URCC 13: Indestructible November 22, 2008 1 3:03 Makati, Philippines
Win 8–0 Malik Arash Mawlayi Submission (punches) AOW 10: Final Conflict December 23, 2007 1 8:48 Beijing, China
Win 7–0 Erik Kalseth Submission (ankle lock) AOW 9: Fists of Fury November 24, 2007 1 0:49 Beijing, China
Win 6–0 Seong Hee Kim Submission (triangle choke) AOW 8: Worlds Collide September 22, 2007 1 1:39 Beijing, China
Win 5–0 Shashi Sathe TKO (punches) Art of War 6 May 26, 2007 1 3:57 Beijing, China
Win 4–0 De Gi Ji Ri Hu KO (punch) Art of War 5 March 31, 2007 1 1:04 Beijing, China
Win 3–0 Yun Tao Gong Submission (rear-naked choke) Art of War 4 December 22, 2006 1 0:59 Beijing, China
Win 2–0 Salvador Domasian TKO (punches) URCC 7: The Art of War December 10, 2005 1 4:48 Quezon City, Philippines
Win 1–0 Zhao Yun Fei Submission (choke) Art of War 1 November 6, 2005 N/A N/A Beijing, China

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "MMA fighters in struggle for recognition in China - People's Daily Online". en.people.cn.
  2. ^ 09/11/2012, Zhang carrying Chinese hopes at UFC Macau, Eurosport
  3. ^ Guilherme Cruz (May 3, 2011). "Tiequan Zhang's trainer talks UFC 127 win, says UFC is heading to Hong Kong in 2012". Tatame.com. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  4. ^ Robert Livingston. "Exclusive Interview with Chinese MMA Champ, Zhang Tie Quan".
  5. ^ John Morgan. "Alex Karalexis vs. Zhang Tie Quan in the works for WEC 51 in September".
  6. ^ "Alex Karalexis Out of WEC 51 Bout Against Tiequan Zhang". mmafighting.com. 2010-09-07.
  7. ^ "Reinhardt Fails Eye Exam – Out Against Tie Quan Zhang at WEC 51". fiveouncesofpain.com. 2010-09-27.
  8. ^ "Danny Downes vs. Tiequan Zhang expected for WEC 53 in December". mmajunkie.com. October 20, 2010.
  9. ^ "UFC and WEC set to merge in 2011; events to air on Versus and Spike TV". mmajunkie.com. October 28, 2010. Archived from the original on October 31, 2010.
  10. ^ "Ruy Meneze's pupil will face Jason Reinhardt, at UFC 127, in Sydney". portaldovaletudo.uol.com. 2011-01-06. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06.
  11. ^ Cruz, Guilherme (August 12, 2011). "Tiequan Zhang vs. Darren Elkins set for UFC 136". Tatame.com. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  12. ^ "UFC 144 lineup set with Zhang-Garcia". mmajunkie.com. 2011-11-28.
  13. ^ "With Leonard Garcia hurt, Tiequan Zhang meets newcomer Issei Tamura at UFC 144". mmajunkie.com. February 12, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  14. ^ "Report: UFC on Fuel TV 6 fight card is all set including John Tuck vs. Zhang Tiequan". MMAOrient.net. 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  15. ^ "'The Ultimate Fighter: China' cast revealed, series debuts Dec. 7". MMAJunkie.com. November 16, 2013. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.

External links[edit]

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