FROM SHAOLIN TEMPLE TO MMA STAR - MEET CHINA’S ‘MONKEY KING’
Event will take place TODAY at Beijing’s Cadillac Arena
Song Yadong was so obsessed with Chinese martial arts that he convinced his mother to pack him up and send him off to learn at the feet of the famous kung fu masters of Shaolin. He was just nine years old at the time. “I had watched a lot of kung fu movies, so I wanted to be like my heroes, like Jet Li,” said Song. “I went to Shaolin and I trained, getting up each day at 5am. It was harder than I ever expected.” A decade later and Song’s thirst for action has led him into the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and on to the biggest stage in mixed martial arts.
“I left Shaolin after two years and then I learned about MMA,” said the 20 year old. “I like the action, I like the fact every fight tests you and that you always have to work to be the best fighter you can be.” Song is at the forefront of the Las Vegas-based promotion’s push into China, the country many consider the spiritual home of all martial arts, and the Tianjin-born fighter is among nine locals set to take part in the UFC’S first fight card to be held in the Chinese capital.
Today night sees the UFC Fight Night 141 event at Beijing’s Cadillac Arena, headlined by a blockbuster bout between heavyweight contenders in Cameroonian-frenchman Francis “The Predator” Ngannou (11-3) and American Curtis “Razor” Blaydes.
But there’s little doubt where Chinese fans’ attention and hopes
I like the action, I like the fact every fight tests you and that you always have to work to be the best fighter you can be
When he was 15, Song was so focused on becoming a professional MMA fighter that he used a forged ID card to convince local promotions that he was 18, and legally allowed to fight will rest.
“It will be the biggest chance for us Chinese fighters and for the sport to grow in China,” said
Song, who will face American Vince “Vandetta”
Morales to night.
- AFP