Featherweights Yi Zha and Westin Wilson were the third fight in on Saturday’s UFC Shanghai preliminary card.
China’s Zha, quite obviously with the crowd behind him on Saturday, was a Road to UFC winner who was looking to bounce back from a loss to Gabriel Santos. Wilson, meanwhile, had actually requested to fight overseas in China, a decision he would ultimately live to regret, not far into Saturday’s opening round.
Zha was on the attack early, and it wasn’t long before Wilson was rocked with a left hand! He went down, and looked compromised. Zha stayed on him, and although Wilson would climb back to his feet, he didn’t stay standing long. Yi Zha swarmed, firing wild punches in a blitzkrieg-like attack that saw Wilson slump back down to the canvas. This time, Wilson was unable to recover, and the ref soon moved in to make the save.
The win over Wilson gives Yi Zha his first in the UFC proper after his run on Road to UFC. Following the fight, Zha stated that he’d followed the game plan he’d outlined during training camp for the taller Westin Wilson. He added thanks to his team – “without my team’s support, I would not be here today,” said Zha, before calling for a bonus.
Official Result: Yi Zha def. Westin Wilson by knockout, Round 1, 0:37
