Zhang Tiequan

Zhang Tiequan, or Zhang Tie Quan (, 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. 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.

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 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.

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 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. 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 on December 16, 2010 at WEC 53: Henderson vs Pettis, the WEC's last ever event before merging with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. 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 and faced Jason Reinhardt 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 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). 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. However, Garcia was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Issei Tamura. 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. 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 which began airing in December 2013.

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Jon Tuck Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le

Macau, SAR, China Loss

Issei Tamura KO (punch) UFC 144

Saitama, Japan Loss

Darren Elkins Decision (unanimous) UFC 136

Houston, Texas, United States Win

Jason Reinhardt Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 127

Sydney, Australia Loss

Danny Downes Decision (unanimous) WEC 53

Glendale, Arizona, United States Win

Pablo Garza Submission (guillotine choke) WEC 51

Broomfield, Colorado, United States Win

Daniel Digby Submission (neck crank) Legend Fighting Championship 2

Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong Welterweight bout. Win

Caloy Baduria Submission (armbar) URCC 15: Onslaught

Pasay, Philippines Win

Yonglong Zhu Submission (kimura) Ultimate Martial Arts Combat

Beijing, China Win

Arthit Hanchana Submission (triangle choke) Xian Sports University: Ultimate Wrestle

Guangzhou, China Win

Caloy Baduria Submission (guillotine choke) URCC 13: Indestructible

Makati, Philippines Win

Malik Arash Mawlayi Submission (punches) AOW 10: Final Conflict

Beijing, China Win

Erik Kalseth Submission (ankle lock) AOW 9: Fists of Fury

Beijing, China Win

Seong Hee Kim Submission (triangle choke) AOW 8: Worlds Collide

Beijing, China Win

Shashi Sathe TKO (punches) Art of War 6

Beijing, China Win

De Gi Ji Ri Hu KO (punch) Art of War 5

Beijing, China Win

Yun Tao Gong Submission (rear-naked choke) Art of War 4

Beijing, China Win

Salvador Domasian TKO (punches) URCC 7: The Art of War

Quezon City, Philippines Win

Zhao Yun Fei Submission (choke) Art of War 1

Beijing, China