SINGAPORE – Zhang Mingyang put his name on the map on Episode 1 of “Road to UFC.”
Although it was a non-tournament light heavyweight bout, Mingyang (16-6) came up as a big underdog when he scored a highlight-reel first-round knockout of Sanford MMA’s Tuco Tokkos (7-3).
After scoring the devastating finish, Mingyang hopes he represented Chinese MMA well.
“I want to show the world what China got and I think I need to show them to show my value,” Mingyang told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the Road to UFC post-fight news conference.
Mingyang says he didn’t necessarily expect a quick finish, but once he hurt Tokkos early, he smelt blood which resulted in a scary finish that left his opponent unconscious on the canvas for several minutes.
Absolutely horrifying knockout by Zhang Mingyang over -675 favorite Tuco Tokkos to open #RoadToUFC. He was down for a very, very long time. Scary. pic.twitter.com/pA1aeA24fP
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) June 9, 2022
“It wasn’t really my plan,” Mingyang said. “My plan was to go around him in the first round and then be aggressive during the second and third round, but then I hit him and he was bleeding, it made me feel like excited.”
Zhang Mingyang wants to show world China’s value after brutal KO at ‘Road to UFC’