Chinese Athletes Impress In Prelims Of ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI

A trio of Chinese athletes shined in the preliminary card of ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI.

On Saturday, 2 September, strawweight threat “Supermom” Miao Jie, lightweight talent “The Ghost” Zhang Ze Hao, and featherweight competitor Xie Chao brought everyone in the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center to their feet with three explosive finishes.

“Supermom” Scores Quick Submission Win

People may call her “Supermom” because she would do anything for her son, but 30-year-old local heroine Miao Jie proved she has some super submission skills too.

Miao maintained perfect focus against Mona Samir, a multi-time African Wrestling Championships silver medalist. The Egyptian kept circling away from Miao with looping hooks, but “Supermom” eventually got close enough to latch onto her, and quickly brought her to the ground.

After some very brief jockeying for position, the Chinese jumped onto Samir’s back. From there, she locked in a tight armbar which forced Samir to submit in a hurry.

“Supermom” ended the bout in double-quick time to the tune of 49 seconds. She moves her record to 3-1.

Zhang Ze Hao Picks Apart Li Cheng Chao

“The Ghost” Zhang Ze Hao may have appeared tentative in the opening stanza of his lightweight clash, but once he established some rhythm, he picked his shots, and haunted “Superboy” Li Cheng Chao until the very end.

Both competitors spent the early going feeling each other out and trying to establish their range. It was Li, a 24-year-old Shanghai resident, who stood out at first. He connected with a sidekick to the head, showboated with a short dance, and mixed up his attack with a variety of leg kicks, crescent kicks, and punches.

Zhang, also a 24-year-old native of Shanghai, responded with some nice counterstrikes of his own. But it was halfway into the second round where he started to inflict some real damage.

“The Ghost” patiently bided his time, stepped forward with powerful punches from close range before backing away to recreate distance. He kept lighting up “Superboy” with this methodical and effective strategy, and carried it into the third frame.

By that point, Li was tiring, and not able to properly defend himself. Zhang backed him against the cage and unloaded with a nonstop stream of strikes that simply devastated “Superboy”. Li then ducked for a weak takedown attempt, but was spent and nearly fell over.

The referee saw enough, and halted the contest at the 2:53 mark of the second round. While they entered the contest with similar records, the victory elevates “The Ghost” to 3-2, and causes Li to stumble to 2-3.

Xie Chao Tames “The Borneon Tiger”

Promotional newcomer Xie Chao opened the preliminary card with a bit of a scare.

As soon as the bell rang, the 25-year-old Harbin, China native met Malaysia’s Mark “The Borneon Tiger” Marcellinus in the center of the cagen and the two eagerly engaged in a striking battle.

Xie grabbed the back of his Malaysian opponent’s head and had a loose Muay Thai plum, which ultimately left himself open for an assortment of rapid-fire punches that briefly stunned him.

Still, the Chinese featherweight maintained his wits, and brought Marcellinus to the ground. Before any damage could be done, however, Marcellinus scrambled back to his feet. Xie stood back up, but soon, the 37-year-old Malaysian had him up against the cage.

That is when Xie went to work. He cunningly reached over Marcellinus’ right shoulder and angled for a kimura. Once the Chinese athlete felt the hold was secure, he fell onto his back and brought “The Borneon Tiger” into his guard.

Finally, he threw a leg across his rival’s back, cranked the arm to apply pressure, and forced Marcellinus to tap out at the 1:28 mark of the first round.

Xie looked particularly impressive in his promotional debut, considering he replaced Vietnam’s “Monster” Tran Quang Loc on short notice. He improves to 3-2.