Jun 19, 2020
This was a clip that garnered millions of views for a few reasons with the main one being that a traditional style thought to be more on the ornamental side actually beat Muay Thai... Is this true? How Could Muay Thai as a style lose to Wing Chun? Even Bruce Lee felt Wing Chun was incomplete; yet here, the Wing Chun fighter had his hand raised at the end of it... How could this happen? Is this the rise of a form of Kung Fu in MMA or is there more than meets the eye? Thank you for joining me on this breakdown as we take a closer glance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxUgMgS5w8Y
Excerpts from transcript:
MindSmash on Jun 19, 2020 wrote:... If the Wing Chun fighter could line up Liu Wei for dropping his hands and circling the way he does, so, like Cosmo Alexander versus Sage Northcut. Feint and control limit his opponent’s options, thus, walking into the direction of the blow. This could be a very different fight, but the style of striking does not seem to possess that. He’s just chasing his opponent. It seems that landing with something wilder when Liu Wei over extends is a more successful option. But even then, chasing Liu Wei in a straight line almost looks like a game of cat-and-mouse. At this point, Li Zihao’s style is completely changed and you’re starting to see him control his opponent much better. With it, he’s landing more solid; he isn’t whisking air; or just merely tapping it in effect the same way. Lead hook into low kick. Textbook. He’s starting to look like a kickboxer. It’s as if he’s being forced to level up the longer the fight progresses, fainting the hands into a chum knee to the body. He’s reading the fight. He’s adjusting to his opponent with a completely different style at this point. ...
This guy is a mixed martial artist fighter to the core. Instantly, see his opponent on the canvas, he dashes for side control and secures a pin from there, wrestling. And watch, he easily establishes his full mount. Clearly, Li Zihao is trained in wrestling, peppering from full mount, he easily takes the back. He wanted this. And look, this type of choke isn’t taught as much anymore as it’s really easy to fight. But Liu Wei, he doesn’t know how to peel the hand, let alone cut down his chin. Liu Wei has no idea what he was doing versus Li Zihao. It’s easy to say that he should have not agreed to a mixed martial arts fight versus a mixed martial arts fighter. Maybe he was deceived, saying that he was fighting just a wing chun guy. But as you can see, a basic combination of wrestling and jiu jitsu easily handed Li Zihao the win.
Full fight.
RebelFC
Nov 16, 2017
Special Showcase – Wing Chun VS Muay Thai
(Featherweight, 66kg)
Li Zihao, China, beat Liu Wei, China
Round 2, Rear Naked Choke, 4m20s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3E6RmzXrnc