He left the fight at the Singapore Indoor Stadium with the attention of MMA fans around the globe — and likely the UFC brass as well.

Zhang vs. Tokkos wasn’t part of the Road to UFC tournament, which sees eight fighters in each of four weight classes (flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight) competing to win their way into the UFC. Instead, the light heavyweight match-up, which opened the card, served as a featured fight, and perhaps as a vehicle for the winner to catapult into the UFC.

While Tokkos was the favorite, it was Mingyang who began teeing off early, bloodying his opponent. That forced Tokkos into takedown mode — but the Chinese fighter was quickly back to his feet, something that was no doubt a confidence booster.

A short time later, Zhang landed a thunderous right hand that sent Tokkos crashing to the canvas. He moved in for a handful of follow-up strikes, connecting roughly five more times and putting Tokkos out cold, if he hadn’t been already.

You may very well be seeing him in the UFC next.

ZHANG MINGYANG WITH THE HUGE UPSET 💥

[ #RoadToUFC LIVE NOW on @UFCFightPass ] pic.twitter.com/0h2b10Sxo5

— UFC (@ufc) June 9, 2022

The nasty knockout left Tokkos prone for quite some time, and he was still being helped to his stool as Zhang was wrapping up his post-fight interview with Laura Sanko. Mingyang Zhang improves to 16-6 with the win, and is now riding a nine-fight win streak.

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Road to UFC 1 featured four opening round bouts in the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight tournaments, with winners moving on in the hopes of securing a roster spot in the UFC proper. As well, one standalone bout was featured, in this case a light heavyweight match-up between George Tokkos and China’s Zhang Mingyang.

Among the standouts on the Road to UFC 1 card, South Korea’s Ki Won Bin looked to be the favorite against Japan’s Jinnosuke Kashimura. Bin had fought some solid competition in the past, while Kashimura took the lightweight fight on very short notice. That should give Bin the upper hand, even if his chin has been brought into question in the past.

The Road to UFC 1 card gets underway at 2:30AM ET on Thursday, June 9, 2022, live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Full results from the five-fight card can be found below.

Road to UFC 1 Results

Yi Zha def. Keisuke Sasu by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:14
Ki Won Bin def. Jinnosuke Kashimura by TKO (elbows), Round 1, 4:45
Toshiomi Kazama def. Keremuaili Maimaitituoheti by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Choi Seung Guk def. Rama Supandhi by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Zhang Mingyang def. George Tokkos by knockout, Round 1, 3:57

The post Road to UFC 1 Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

It’s win and advance, with the winner in each weight class getting a shot at the UFC. The opening round will feature four installments, each featuring one fight in each weight class and a single non-tournament bout.

Not sure who’s who out of the Asian prospects featured, including fighters representing China, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and more? We’ve got you covered!

Featherweight: Yi Zha Vs. Keisuke Sasu

Tale of the Tape

Pros and Cons

Prediction: Both these fighters are good prospects but to me, only one really stands out, that being the younger Yi Zha. Sasu is more of a wrestler and although he is the more physical athlete, Zha is slicker.

On the feet, Zha is faster, has better footwork, better kickboxing, and is even better defensively. Zha has been dropped in a few of his fights but Sasu doesn’t have the closing speed to do that. If he does connect I’m not confident he has the closing ability to put the fight away. As a wrestler I strongly favor Zha. Most of the takedowns from Sasu come from the clinch and Zha can wrestle from all areas.

The biggest factor is the jiu-jitsu of Zha. Zha is much better at moving into dominant positions and creating scrambles. He’s a much better submission grappler and can make if difficult for Sasu even if he was on top. I like Zha as he has more weapons and is better everywhere.

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