WEC 53 Preview: The Prelims

Tie Quan Zhang vs. Daniel Downes

Zhang fights for China Top Team, which elicits some interesting thoughts concerning MMA’s worldwide growth and the population of China itself.

With reports listing 140.8 million Chinese males aged 14 and under as of 2009, imagine the potential talent base if the sport explodes there as it has in other countries. Even if only one in 10,000 boys becomes a pro fighter, that’s more than 14,000 Chinese guys competing in MMA, enough to make even Reggie Warren, Jr., concerned about their potential dominance of the sport.

Downes is a tough kid who succumbed to a submission in his WEC debut against Chris Horodecki. Taking the bout on less than a week’s notice, he did about as well as one could expect before tapping out.

At 12-0, Zhang could be one of those unbeaten prospects to watch, but you have to wonder about the quality of competition in places with nascent MMA scenes. He’s also spent more time on his back in fights than you’d expect a Mongolian with wrestling credentials to. Downes will definitely make him prove if he belongs.

Zhang notched a win in his WEC debut with a guillotine choke submission over Pablo Garza, so we’ll go with him by decision.