As part of UFC president Dana White’s plan to conquer China, the WEC has announced the signing of it’s first Chinese fighter, Tiequan “The Mongolian Wolf” Zhang, who will make his promotional debut on Sept. 30.
It will be interesting to see how the 16-0 fighter does against North American fighters and whether or not he can break the trend of Asian fighters failing in the market.
Press Release
World Extreme Cagefighting® announced today the signing of undefeated lightweight fighter Tiequan “The Mongolian Wolf” Zhang of Beijing, China. Zhang, who will take on The Ultimate Fighter® alum Alex Karalexis in his debut on Sept. 30 in Broomfield, Colo., becomes the first fighter from mainland China to fight in the WEC.
“Tiequan is an excellent addition to our lightweight division,” WEC General Manager Reed Harris said. “He trains at a tremendous camp in Beijing and we are excited to have him compete with the best lighter weight fighters in the world.”
Boasting a perfect record of 16-0, Zhang trains with China Top Team, a group led by former Brazilian Top Team member Ruy Menezes. His arrival in the WEC is a milestone not only for the organization, but also for Chinese mixed martial artists.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® recently announced that it was establishing operations in Asia, with former NBA executive Mark Fischer being named Executive Vice President and Managing Director. Fischer will be based in Beijing.
About World Extreme Cagefighting®
The WEC brand is recognized as one of the premier mixed martial arts organizations in the United States. WEC, founded in 2001, is the sister organization of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® and today features the most prominent light weight fighters in the world. Owned and operated by WEC Holdings LLC., and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the WEC produces live and taped events annually that are distributed through the Versus network.WEC programming is also available on Fox Sports en Espanol. In addition to its U.S distribution, WEC programming is shown on The Score network in Canada, Setanta Sports in Australia, Globosat in Brazil, and Cadena Tres in Mexico. For more information and current WEC fight news, visit wec.tv. World Extreme Cagefighting® and WEC® are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by WEC Holdings, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions and are licensed to WEC Productions, LLC.