Zhang Tiequan, or Zhang Tie Quan (, born July 25, 1978), often anglicized to Tiequan Zhang, is a Chinese

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

, who last competed as a

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...

in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. 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.

Background

Zhang began training in martial arts and

Mongolian wrestling Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh (Mongolian script: ; Mongolian Cyrillic: Бөх or Үндэсний бөх), is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and other regions where touching the ground with anything other th ...

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. In 2005, Zhao convinced Zhang to move to MMA making him one of the earliest professional MMA fighters in China. Zhang is also China's first-ever brown belt and black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

When the Art of War Fighting Championship, China's largest mixed martial arts organization, was founded in 2005, the company's founder Andrew 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.

World Extreme Cagefighting

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 Alexander Karalexis (born September 20, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional from 2003 until 2011, Karalexis was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter 1, and competed for the UFC and WEC. Background Kar ...

at '' WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan'' in September 2010. However, Karalexis was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer

Jason Reinhardt Jason Reinhardt (born October 31, 1969) is an American mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor from 2000 until 2011, Reinhardt fought in the UFC and King of the Cage. Mixed martial arts career Early career After compiling a 1-0 amate ...

. Reinhardt was then also forced from the card after failing a prefight eye exam and replaced by Pablo Garza. Zhang won the fight via submission in the first round. Zhang then fought

Danny Downes Daniel William Downes (born April 8, 1986) is a retired American mixed martial artist. Even after his retirement, Downes has still continued to stick around the sport of MMA. He became what some call a "fighter turned writer", as he now write ...

on December 16, 2010 at '' WEC 53: Henderson vs Pettis'', the WEC's last ever event before merging with the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. Zhang tasted defeat for the first time, losing via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On October 28, 2010, WEC merged with the UFC. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. For his UFC debut, Zhang dropped down to

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

and faced

on February 27, 2011 at '' UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch''. Zhang showed accurate counters in the first few moments of the fight before eventually attempting a

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compare to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

which led to a

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

victory just 48 seconds into the first round. Zhang fought

Darren Elkins Darren Elkins (born May 16, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he fights in the Featherweight division. Elkins is known for his toughness and comeback victories. Background Elkins was bor ...

on October 8, 2011 at ''

UFC 136 ''UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 8, 2011, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event coincided with a two-day UFC Fan Expo held at the George R. Brown ...

'', and lost the fight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26). Zhang repeatedly attempted unsuccessful

s 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 Leonard Garcia (born July 14, 1979, in Plainview, Texas) is an American former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Featherweight division of the Legacy Fighting Championship, and is the former Legacy FC Featherweight Champion. ...

on February 26, 2012 at

UFC 144 ''UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 26, 2012 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Venue UFC 144 was held at the Saitama Super Arena in the ...

. However, Garcia was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer

Issei Tamura is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of Pancrase. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for the UFC and Shooto. Mixed martial arts career Early career Tamura made his professiona ...

. He lost the fight via KO in the second round. Zhang returned to

is expected to face

Jon Tuck Jonathan Cruz Tuck (born August 28, 1984) is a Chamorro professional mixed martial artist. Tuck is the first Chamorro native from Guam to be signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and competes at the Lightweight division. His offi ...

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

on November 10, 2012 at

UFC on Fuel TV 6 ''UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le'' (also known as ''UFC on Fuel TV 6'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 10, 2012, at the Macau, SAR, China. It was the first UFC event held in China. Backgr ...

. He lost via unanimous decision in a back-and-forth fight.

The Ultimate Fighter: China

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 ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

which began airing in December 2013.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 15–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

SAR SAR or Sar may refer to: Places * Sar (river), Galicia, Spain * Sar, Bahrain, a residential district * Sar, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Sar, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region of China * Šar Mountains, in southeastern Europe ...

, China , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–3 ,

, KO (punch) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:32 , Saitama, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Houston, Texas, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–1 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) ,

UFC 127 ''UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Sunday, 27 February 2011 at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. Due to the time zone difference it aired live on Saturday, 26 February in Nort ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

WEC 53 ''WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on December 16, 2010 at Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. The event was the first time that Zuffa has h ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Glendale, Arizona, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–0 , Pablo Garza , Submission (guillotine choke) ,

WEC 51 ''WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on September 30, 2010 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. This was the only event that the WEC hosted in Colorado. Backg ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a consolidated city and county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. Broomfield has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The Broomfield populati ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–0 , Daniel Digby , Submission (neck crank) , Legend Fighting Championship 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:30 ,

Kowloon Bay Kowloon Bay is a body of water within Victoria Harbour and an area within Kowloon, Hong Kong. The bay is located at the east of the Kowloon Peninsula and north of Hong Kong Island. It is the eastern portion of Victoria Harbour, between ...

, Hong Kong ,

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

bout. , - , Win , align=center, 12–0 , Caloy Baduria , Submission (armbar) , URCC 15: Onslaught , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 ,

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 440,656 people. Due to its location j ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 11–0 , Yonglong Zhu , Submission (kimura) , Ultimate Martial Arts Combat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:06 , Beijing, China , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Arthit Hanchana , Submission (triangle choke) , Xian Sports University: Ultimate Wrestle , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:46 ,

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Caloy Baduria , Submission (guillotine choke) , URCC 13: Indestructible , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:03 ,

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Malik Arash Mawlayi , Submission (punches) , AOW 10: Final Conflict , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:48 , Beijing, China , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Erik Kalseth , Submission (ankle lock) , AOW 9: Fists of Fury , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 , Beijing, China , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Seong Hee Kim , Submission (triangle choke) , AOW 8: Worlds Collide , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:39 , Beijing, China , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Shashi Sathe , TKO (punches) , Art of War 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:57 , Beijing, China , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , De Gi Ji Ri Hu , KO (punch) , Art of War 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 , Beijing, China , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Yun Tao Gong , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Art of War 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 , Beijing, China , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Salvador Domasian , TKO (punches) , URCC 7: The Art of War , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:48 ,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...

, Philippines , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Zhao Yun Fei , Submission (choke) , Art of War 1 , , align=center, N/A , align=center, N/A , Beijing, China ,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Tiequan 1978 births Living people Chinese male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Chinese practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Chinese sanshou practitioners Chinese male sport wrestlers Chinese people of Mongolian descent Sportspeople from Inner Mongolia People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing sanshou Mixed martial artists utilizing Bökh Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu