Zhang Tiequan, or Zhang Tie Quan, often anglicized to Tiequan Zhang, is a Chinese mixed martial artist, who last competed as a Lightweight in the UFC.
18 Facts About Zhang Tiequan
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Zhang Tiequan 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.
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Zhang Tiequan began training in martial arts and Mongolian wrestling as a child and won the Inner Mongolian Wrestling Championships at the age of 16.
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In 2005, Zhao convinced Zhang Tiequan to move to MMA making him one of the earliest professional MMA fighters in China.
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Zhang Tiequan is China's first-ever brown belt and black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
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Zhang Tiequan then took up mixed martial arts and won his first thirteen fights, over a five-year period, all by knockout or submission.
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Zhang Tiequan was expected to make his WEC debut against Alex Karalexis at WEC 51: Aldo vs Gamburyan in September 2010.
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Zhang Tiequan won the fight via submission in the first round.
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Zhang Tiequan 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.
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Zhang Tiequan tasted defeat for the first time, losing via unanimous decision.
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Zhang Tiequan 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.
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Zhang Tiequan fought Darren Elkins on October 8,2011 at UFC 136, and lost the fight via unanimous decision.
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Zhang Tiequan 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.
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Zhang Tiequan was expected to face Leonard Garcia on February 26,2012 at UFC 144.
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Zhang Tiequan lost the fight via KO in the second round.
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Zhang Tiequan returned to Lightweight is expected to face Jon Tuck in Macau on November 10,2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 6.
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Zhang Tiequan lost via unanimous decision in a back-and-forth fight.
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In November 2013, it was announced that Zhang Tiequan 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.