Zhang Mingyang earned his 18th career finish at UFC Macau, putting away Ozzy Diaz with a picture-perfect elbow strike in the opening round.
Diaz was hesitant to engage in the early going, instead opting to make reads and look for an opening. Of course, that allowed Zhang to do the same and, in the end, it cost Diaz big.
Just before the halfway point of the first, Zhang pumps a jab and as Diaz steps in to try and counter, Zhang delivers a perfectly timed elbow that caught Diaz clean. With his opponent hitting the mat, Zhang pounced and dropped some ground and pound strikes. Diaz attempted to defend, but all he could do was cover up, forcing the referee to step in and call for the stoppage less than three minutes into the scrap.
Official Result: Zhang Mingyang def. Ozzy Diaz via TKO (elbow to ground-and-pound) at 2:25 of Round 1.