BEIJING, Sept. 4 -- 42 seconds. That's all it took for China to crown its first UFC world champion when Zhang Weili knocked out Brazil's Jessica Andrade to claim the UFC world strawweight title.

However, the reality is that the elevation of a Chinese fighter to the top of the world's premier mixed martial arts promotion has been a long time in the making. Certainly, a lot longer than 42 seconds.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, founded in 1993 at a time when people were beginning to become interested in professional martial arts - beyond the commercial juggernaut of boxing. People began looking away from boxing-dominated America and Europe, to traditional martial arts in Asia and South America.

The 20th century saw the expansion of contests between different styles of traditional martial arts across East Asia. Perhaps the most famous of these early mixed bouts was between boxer Muhammed Ali and trained martial artist-cum-professional wrestler Antonio Inoki. While the bout was a dud, the desire for punters to see the clash of styles remained.

Across the world in Brazil, the traditional Japanese martial art of Jiu-jitsu, which some experts believe had its origins in ancient Chinese martial arts, was being updated and was beginning to find a foothold in North America.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), as the updated form of the Japanese art is now called, diverged from the strict rules of jiu-jitsu and judo into a more forceful and practical sport. In early 20th century, Geo Omori, a Japanese man who had built a career challenging and defeating practitioners of other martial arts, such as boxers and wrestlers, brought Jiu-jitsu to Brazil.

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