Zhang Mingyang showed once again that he is a force in the opening round when he put Ozzy Diaz away in highlight-reel fashion at UFC Fight Night 248.
Mingyang (18-6 MMA, 2-0 UFC) maintained his rate of finishing his opponent in the first round in all of his career wins when a perfect short left elbow dropped Diaz (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and led to a flurry of ground-and-pound to end the light heavyweight bout less than 3 minutes in at Galaxy Arena in Macau.
The crowd went wild for Mingyang’s handiwork, and you can check out the replay of it below (via X):
THAT ELBOW WAS CLEAN #UFCMacau pic.twitter.com/RXXBcqu4d0
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 23, 2024
Zhang Mingyang records just the 10th finish in UFC history stemming from an elbow strike at distance and the first in light heavyweight history! #UFCMacau pic.twitter.com/Br9kRxhl11
— UFC (@ufc) November 23, 2024
Afterward, the 26-year-old Mingyang delivered an enthusiastic post-fight interview in which he said he is looking forward to big things from his future at 205 pounds.
“This knockout is for you, for the hometown crowd,” Mingyang said through an interpreter in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I want two bonuses – two bonuses, because I deserve it. Hey Dana (White), I want the top 15. I want the title fight. I want the money fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 248.
