The arrival of the UFC in China began humbly. An event here and event there, but as the sport has continued to grow, many young Chinese martial artists began to take notice. One such artist was Zhang Weili.

The Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) athlete, turned primary school teacher, turned waitress has just been crowned China's first-ever UFC world champion. An athlete with a foundation in Chinese martial arts who has adapted to become a modern all-round fighter.

Her style reflects the journey martial arts have been on since leaving China centuries ago. Her devastating kicks and the ferocious knees that won her the belt come from her background in Chinese Sanda, while her superb ground game originates from Brazil and North America.

Zhang was not the only modern Chinese martial artist to demonstrate this lineage in Shenzhen on August 31. Other Chinese fighters, while having different styles from Zhang, demonstrated their foundations in Chinese martial arts.

Li Jingliang defeated the heavy favorite Elizeu dos Santos by staying at range, a discipline plucked straight from various forms of kung-fu, while Heili Alateng, the fighter from Inner Mongolia, dominated his opponent with his wrestling that originated with Mongolian traditions.

For now, UFC may only have a single champion from the home of martial arts, but as UFC continues to grow, and with thousands of years of tradition and discipline to draw from, it will not be long until UFC begins to crown Chinese champions regularly.

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