UFC hopeful Mingyang Zhang announces himself on the big stage with highlight reel knockout

UFC hopeful Mingyang Zhang surely punched his ticket to the big leagues after producing a stunning highlight reel knockout of 10-fight veteran George Tokkos.

The Chinese MMA fighter, who bears no relation to Weili Zhang who fights Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a rematch at UFC 275 later tonight, landed a beautiful right hand at the end of the first round.

It left Englishman Tokkos out for the count and crumpled in a heap on the canvas.

Zhang followed up with a few extra shots for good measure as his opponent lay prone on the ground before the referee waved it off.

Despite being a former champion and a more experienced fighter than his opponent, Zhang was a huge underdog going into the fight.

But it’s a role which he evidently relished as he seemed to take great delight in proving the bookies wrong.

Speaking after the fight, he said: “I was really excited when I won but I knew I was going to win because I’ve been preparing for this for a long time since last September.

“I couldn’t compete because of some visa issue but now I finally won so I feel really calm.

Check out the video below…

Mingyang Zhang #RoadToUFC pic.twitter.com/LREmgoZIWr

“I knew that I was going to win.

“This belongs to me and my team.

“I actually like that feeling because I think when people see you as the underdog it gives you even more motivation to fight harder.

“That was just the beginning, I think people are going to get to know me more.

“I think I have that confidence to get into the UFC with this kind of performance, but I think this is just the beginning, I think later on people are going to get to know me more.”

Zhang’s fight with Tokkos wasn’t a part of the ‘Road to UFC’ tournament, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he received a contract offer off