First Things First

Weili Zhang put a beating on challenger Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300. We’re going to analyze what she did right, what she can improve, and how I played a _tiny role in helping her prepare for the fight.

Weili Zhang’s Grappling at UFC 300

Weili Zhang is arguably the best active WMMA fighter. The 5’4 ball of muscle has berserkered her way to a 25-3 record with 19 finishes. I love watching her compete, she holds a special place in my heart, and it's not because she could probably rip it out with her bare hands.

Zhang holds a special place in my heart because someone on her team reached out to me to ask questions about grappling and game planning. You’re probably asking yourself the big question, how? Twitter.

I genuinely believe Twitter is the best social platform on the internet. It's the only place I've seen that genuinely encourages sharing ideas and open communication.

Instagram is too performative, TikTok makes my brain melt, the ghost of Facebook is terrifying, and LinkedIn feels like a hyperreality exhibition of capitalist crazies. No one actually cares about how you led your team of 3 product managers to change the color of 14 buttons, okay?

Anyway, I'm pretty active on what's left of Twitter. One day an anonymous account that works with Zhang messaged me.

I write online bassically for fun. I don't care if you're a UFC champion or if you've never seen a fight before. I want you to share my ideas - you don't have to ask. But when a UFC champion's team asks, you can't help but feel flattered (and say yes).

Since that message we've gone back and forth discussing positions, submissions, and general tactics to maximize grappling success in MMA. When Zhang defended her title this Saturday and her scout thanked me for pointing out a couple of things I asked if they would mind if I wrote a full article on the bad, the good, the ugly, and one unbelievable moment from the weekend’s action.

They told me they'd actually appreciate it! So here we go, a full circle article analyzing Zhang’s grappling against Yan Xiaonan at UFC 300.

The Bad

Generally, Zhang is excellent from the clinch. She frames well to throw elbows, drills opponents with knees, and just kind of bullies people. But in the first round of her fight at UFC 300, she gave up an easy takedown almost immediately. Watch Zhang’s feet below.

Zhang had an underhook, an overhook, and no momentum. She was meeting a crashing Xiaonan and just lifted her leg, allowing herself to get tripped.

Maybe you can hit a sacrifice throw on someone bum rushing you. Maybe. But it's probably safer to stay on two feet so you can meet a rushing opponent and turn them. When you stand on one leg, you're half as athletic as you can be. Why give your opponent that advantage?

The Good

Generally, Zhang’s back mount was great at UFC 300. She found it over and over again, she put her hips in to flatten Xiaonan out, and she knew exactly how to float to stay in positions to hurt her.

Watch how Zhang switches from wrist rides to a seat belt before threatening Xiaonan with punches and choke attempts.

And here is a brilliant example of what’s called diagonal control, aka controlling an opposite side hip and shoulder. Keep an eye on Zhang’s left arm and right leg.

We'll talk about Zhang’s unbelievable use of back mount later. Let’s go to the ugly next.

The Ugly

This is really, really ugly. Zhang went from a finishing position to being completely reversed in less than a minute. I don't want to say that's inexcusable, but that's an area to easily make a massive improvement.

Watch Zhang’s right elbow below.

The simplest way to tighten your arm triangle early is to reach deep for your opponent's far shoulder blade so the crook of your elbow is behind their neck. Here is an example.

Let's end on something I couldn't believe in real time.

The Unbelievable

At the end of round one, Zhang got to Xiaonan’s back. She put on the rear naked choke and squeezed until the round ended. When referee Jason Herzog split them up, Xiaonan slumped over, seemingly unconscious.

I'm not going to say the fight should have been stopped. Frankly, Zhang might have held the choke for a second or two past the bell and that could have taken Xiaonan’s consciousness.

What I am going to say is that there are a couple of tiny details that Zhang could add that probably would have removed Xiaonan from consciousness quicker.

Sharing Your Work

Seeing Zhang win and getting a thank you for it made my jaw drop. I love martial arts and writing, so being rewarded for combining the two is surreal. It’s quite literally a dream come true. It really goes to show you that the internet is a small place and you never know who is reading.

If you have quality work or new ideas, and a good way to communicate them; do it. You just might end up helping the strawweight world champion bring home another belt.

And if you’re feeling subconscious about sharing your work, drop your ego. Don’t take yourself so seriously.

If one of the best fighters on the planet is willing to take advice from my dumbass I’m certain your work could be helpful to someone.

PS - if you’re a professional fighter reading this and you want some help with film study, shoot me an email or DM on Twitter.

Citations And Further Viewing

Share & Support Open Note Grappling