Six of nine Chinese fighters win at UFC Beijing

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night 141 fired up the Chinese MMA fans on a cold winter evening at the Cadillac Arena in Beijing on Saturday, and the outcome of the night fueled that spark as six out of the nine competing Chinese fighters won their matches.

The rising Chinese MMA star “Kungfu Monkey” Song Yadong stepped into the venue with the theme song from “Journey to the West,” and beat Vince Morales from the U.S., who was selected from the TV show The Ultimate Fighters (TUF) and stepped foot in the Octagon for the first time.

Holding two-KOs since joining UFC last year in Shanghai, the 20-year-old bantamweight fighter got a unanimous win in his third UFC match after three rounds.

Song Yadong of China (L) jabs at Vince Morales of the U.S. during their bantamweight bout in the UFC Fight Night 141 at the Cadillac Arena, Beijing, China, November 24, 2018. /VCG Photo

He initially wanted to finish the fight within two rounds, but Morales was tough. Song said after the match, “I feel my shortcomings in every match and I'll improve every part of my technique during future training.”

Chinese UFC pioneer Li "The Leech" Jingliang won a TKO against Germany's David Zawada with a right side kick in the last minute of a three-round welterweight bout. After the match, Li thanked his team and said, “Every fighter is a monster, but I'm afraid of nobody.”

Li Jingliang of China (R) punches David Zawada of Germany during their welterweight bout in the UFC Fight Night 141 at the Cadillac Arena, Beijing, China, November 24, 2018. /VCG Photo

The UFC bantamweight newcomer Sumudaerji opened the prelim events but was defeated midway in Round 2. The 22-year-old Tibetan from Enbo Fight Club, which is famous for training ethnic minority orphans from a very young age, was passive from the very start and gave numerous chances to his rival Louis Smolka to finish the match with an armbar.

After the match, Smolka knelt on the ground, and was crying from excitement. That's because this fight was Smolka's comeback after being cut from the UFC for four consecutive losses last year, but he proved himself this time in Beijing.

Liu Pingyuan of China got a split win against Hawaii's Martin Day. The two fighters were very evenly matched, even after Liu broke his finger.

Liu Pingyuan of China hooks leg of Martin Day of the U.S. during their bantamweight bout in the UFC Fight Night 141 at the Cadillac Arena, Beijing, China, November 24, 2018. /VCG Photo

On the women's side, all three Chinese fighters bagged victories as Yan Xiaonan got a unanimous decisive win over Japan's Syuri Kondo in a women's strawweight bout, and flyweight Wu Yanan and strawweight Zhang Weili both won with armbars in the first round, defeating Lauren Mueller of the U.S. and Jessica Aguilar of Mexico, respectively.

One of “Magnum” Zhang's punches left a huge gash on veteran Aguilar that filled the Octagon with blood. This only seemed to fire her up and she realized her promise of finishing the fight within two rounds.

Zhang Weili of China launches an armbar to Jessica Aguilar of Mexico during their strawweight bout in the UFC Fight Night 141 at the Cadillac Arena, Beijing, China, November 24, 2018. /VCG Photo

After the debut loss last year in the UFC Fight Night Shanghai, “Mulan” Wu got both her first win and her blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

China's light heavyweight Hu Yaozong and welterweight Song Kenan lost to Rashad Coulter and Alex Morono of the U.S., respectively, through unanimous decisions.

Kevin Holland defeated John Phillips with a rear naked choke in the last minute of the match to win the middleweight bout.

The main event featured a bout between two top-five heavyweight fighters, but rather than a brawl, the contest was over in a flash as Francis “The Predator” Ngannou of Cameroon astonished the audience by knocking out Curtis “Razor” Blaydes of the U.S. within 45 seconds of their second encounter.

Heavyweight Francis “The Predator” Ngannou of Cameroon knocks out Curtis “Razor” Blaydes of the U.S. within 45 seconds during their second encounter in the UFC Fight Night 141 at the Cadillac Arena, Beijing, China, November 24, 2018. /VCG Photo

38-year-old “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem also smashed UFC newcomer Sergei Pavlovich with a TKO in the first round to win the heavyweight bout. This is Overeem's first UFC fight since his back-to-back losses to Ngannou and Blaydes at UFC 218 and 225.

The Fight of Night was awarded to Song Kenan vs. Alex Morono and the Performances of the Night belonged to Li Jingliang and Francis Ngannou.

_{Video Editor/Cinematographer: Geng Zhibin}