Nothing was going to wreck obsession

– Song Yadong was so obsessed with Chinese martial arts that he convinced his mother to send him off to learn at the feet of the famous kung fu masters of Shaolin. He was just nine years old. A decade later and Song’s thirst for action has led him into the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Tonight sees the UFC Fight Night 141 event at Beijing’s Cadillac Arena, headlined by a blockbuster bout between heavyweight contenders in Cameroonian-Frenchman Francis Ngannou and American Curtis Blaydes.

When he was 15, Song was so focused on becoming a professional MMA fighter that he used a forged ID card to convince local promoters that he was 18, and legally allowed to fight.

The UFC currently has 11 Chinese fighters on its books, a mix of established stars such as the veteran welterweight Li Jingliang and rising stars such as Song and female strawweight Zhang Weili. –

Beijing