Tag: Zhang Mingyang

Defying the odds: The 10 biggest MMA betting upsets of 2022

Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2022, according to the oddsmakers, across Bellator, the UFC, PFL and more.

Who doesn’t love a good upset?

In 2022, MMA saw its fair share of underdogs who defied the odds in the UFC, Bellator and beyond. While everyone has an opinion of who should win and who should lose, the oddsmakers (and how the betting public responds) largely get the final say on what history reflects.

This year, with the help of MMA database Tapology, MMA Junkie has compiled the top 10 betting upsets of 2022. Fights that were eligible were those that multiple major online sportsbooks recognized, and that Tapology recorded prior to the close of the betting line.

Promotions eligible include UFC, Bellator, PFL, KSW, DWCS, Road to UFC, Eagle FC, and One Championship.

Check out the top 10 MMA betting upsets of 2022 below. Only major MMA promotions were included in the tally.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 31-Nov. 6)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Oct. 31-Nov. 6.

UFC 284 adds Tyson Pedro vs. Zhang Mingyang to lineup

Tyson Pedro will look to make it three straight wins at UFC 284.

[autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag] will look to make it three wins in a row his next time out.

Light heavyweights Pedro (9-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and [autotag]Zhang Mingyang[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will face off Feb. 11 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, UFC officials announced Monday. The bout was first reported by MMA Ecosystem.

Since returning from a three-and-a-half year layoff in 2022, Pedro has scored back-to-back first-round knockouts of Ike Villanueva and, most recently Harry Hunsucker, at UFC 278 in August.

Winner of his past nine in a row, Mingyang is coming off a brutal first-round knockout of George Tokkos on Episode 1 of Road to UFC in June. All 16 of the Chinese fighter’s professional wins have come in the first round.

With the addition, the UFC 284 lineup now includes:

  • Paulo Costa vs. Robert Whittaker
  • Zhang Mingyang vs. Tyson Pedro

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Zhang Mingyang wants to show world China’s value after brutal KO at ‘Road to UFC’

“I want to show the world what China got and I think I need to show them to show my value.”

SINGAPORE – [autotag]Zhang Mingyang[/autotag] put his name on the map on Episode 1 of “Road to UFC.”

Although it was a non-tournament light heavyweight bout, Mingyang (16-6) came up as a big underdog when he scored a highlight-reel first-round knockout of Sanford MMA’s Tuco Tokkos (7-3).

After scoring the devastating finish, Mingyang hopes he represented Chinese MMA well.

“I want to show the world what China got and I think I need to show them to show my value,” Mingyang told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the Road to UFC post-fight news conference.

Mingyang says he didn’t necessarily expect a quick finish, but once he hurt Tokkos early, he smelt blood which resulted in a scary finish that left his opponent unconscious on the canvas for several minutes.

“It wasn’t really my plan,” Mingyang said. “My plan was to go around him in the first round and then be aggressive during the second and third round, but then I hit him and he was bleeding, it made me feel like excited.”

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Massive underdog Zhang Mingyang scores scary KO over Tuco Tokkos at in ‘Road to UFC’ opener

The “Road to UFC” series got off to a spectacular and scary start courtesy of Zhang Mingyang’s knockout win.

The “Road to UFC” series got off to a spectacular and scary start Thursday when he [autotag]Zhang Mingyang[/autotag] scored a devastating knockout of [autotag]Tuco Tokkos[/autotag] on Episode 1.

Tokkos, who came into the light heavyweight fight as a -675 betting favorite, caught by Mingyang’s punches late in the first round and went down in a heap. Mingyang added a few unnecessary and powerful shots to his opponent’s chin when he was down, earning the stoppage at 3:57 mark of Round 1.

After taking the knockout, Tokkos remained on the canvas for several minutes out cold. He eventually rose to his feet, but needed to be carried to the back by his coaches in a disoriented state.

Check out the replay of the brutal knockout below (via Twitter):

The matchup between Mingyang and Tokkos was a non-tournament bout at “Road to UFC.” The fight took place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore and streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

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