VIDEO | Watch Zhou Zhipeng Overcome a 150-pound Weight Disadvantage to Beat Hong-Man Choi

https://youtu.be/3tqnIUTCfV4

In mixed martial arts, we occasionally witness contests between fighters of starkly different sizes. The majority of these David vs. Goliath style fights occurred during the height of Japan’s obsession with MMA, and during the early days of the UFC. That said, we’ve also seen some pretty incredible size differences in the UFC’s modern era as well. One modern example of this type of fight is Benson Henderson’s 2015 battle with the much larger Brandon Thatch. Irish superstar Conor McGregor would also have us believe his two unforgettable bouts with Nate Diaz fall into this category, though these claims have been the subject of much debate.

When it comes to size disparities between fighters, however, very few mixed martial arts bouts hold a candle to a kickboxing bout that occured at Silk Road Hero in China this weekend. This bout pitted 7’1, 352-pound South Korean giant Hong-Man Choi with 5’8, 158-pound Chinese kickboxer Zhou Zhipeng.

Despite the absurd size advantage possessed by Choi, this wild showdown would actually be won by the much smaller Zhipeng, who utilized movement, speed, and effective counter striking to capture the judges’ favor.

https://twitter.com/Jolassanda/status/795270199503110144

This, of course, is not the first time the towering Choi has been bested by a smaller, faster fighter. In December of 2007, for example, he was submitted by heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. In 2009, meanwhile, he was submitted by a similarly undersized Ikuhisa Minowa under the Dream banner. Then, of course, there was his most recent mixed martial arts bout, in which he was levelled by the much shorter “Mighty Mo” Siala-Mou Siliga to come up short in the finals of Road FC‘s recent openweight grand prix.

Are you impressed by Zhou Zhipeng’s defeat of the much larger Hong-Man Choi? Let us know what you think in the the comments section. Sound off, PENN Nation!