Zhang, who entered the Shanghai Indoor Stadium for his main event clash with Johnny Walker to a deafening reception, fended off a surprise takedown attempt from the Brazilian in the opening seconds and, with most of the round spent on the feet, punished Walker with a succession of heavy strikes as he forced the UFC veteran onto the back foot.
That strong start continued into the second round, but despite his impressive performance, things suddenly took a turn for the worse when Walker connected with a perfectly-placed calf kick that put the Chinese fan-favourite in big trouble.
The kick forced Zhang to hobble backward, with the agony of the strike etched across his face. It was the opening Walker desperately needed, and he didn’t waste his opportunity.
The Brazilian swarmed Zhang and, after “The Mountain Tiger” went to the ground, Walker hammered him with a constant barrage of strikes until referee Marc Goddard waved off the fight at the 2:37 mark.
It gave Walker a priceless victory as he snapped his three-fight winless streak with his first win since May 2023. Zhang, meanwhile, saw his 12-fight win streak come to an end.
In the co-main event, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling edged closer to a title shot in a second weight class with a shutout victory over former title challenger Brian Ortega.
Sterling and Ortega faced off in a five-round contender clash at 145 pounds, which was switched to a 153-pound catchweight bout after Ortega missed weight at the official weigh-ins.
Sterling looked too sharp as he outstruck Ortega on the feet, and maintained good position when the fight was on the mat as he earned scores of 50-45 on all three scorecards to put him right into the mix at the top of the featherweight division.
Also on the main card, heavyweight contender Sergei Pavlovich claimed his second successive victory following back-to-back losses to Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov, as he outpointed Waldo Cortes-Acosta.
The fight didn’t catch fire in the way many were expecting, with Pavlovich looking more gun-shy then we saw prior to his knockout loss to Aspinall at UFC 295. But he managed the fight well to ensure he claimed the win, with scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.
The night also saw plenty of local successes for the Shanghai crowd to cheer, with Su Mudaerji, Taiyilake Nueraji, Rongzhu and Yi Zha all picking up victories for China.
UFC Shanghai: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Johnny Walker def. Zhang Mingyang via TKO (leg kick and punches) – Round 2, 2:37
- Aljamain Sterling def. Brian Ortega via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
- Sergei Pavlovich def. Waldo Cortes-Acosta via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Su Mudaerji def. Kevin Borjas via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Taiyilake Nueraji def. Kiefer Crosbie via TKO (elbows) – Round 1, 3:33
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Gauge Young def. Maheshate via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Charles Johnson def. Lone’er Kavanagh via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 4:35
- Rongzhu def. Austin Hubbard via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Kyle Daukaus def. Michel Pereira via knockout (punches and elbows) – Round 1, 0:43
- Yi Zha def. Westin Wilson via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:37
- You Su-Young def. Xiao Long via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Uran Satybaldiev def. Diyar Nurgozhay via submission (Ezekiel choke) – Round 1, 2:45
