Zhu Rong is the youngest fighter on the UFC roster. The Chinese fighter competes in the octagon for the second time this weekend and is looking to emulate his hero Jon Jones,
“I really like his style; his fighting style and I think he has a high fight IQ. I want to be like Jon Jones,” said Rong.
Rong faces Dakota Bush at UFC Vegas 37. He is coming off a loss on his promotional debut but the 22 year old believes that time is on his side,
“I’m the youngest fighter in UFC history. I have enough time to improve myself in the near future, so I feel that,” he added.
More experienced
He has watched a lot of footage of Bush and knows exactly what to expect,
“I saw a lot of video about my opponent this time. I think my standing skills, wrestling and ground skills are better than him so I think I can easily win this time. I lost the last one because I needed more experience of fighting in the UFC so I can get a better performance this time,” Rong told Asianmma.com.
Although he was disappointed to lose on his UFC debut Rong has spent several months training in the US in order to ensure his sophomore appearance is more successful,
“After the last fight I stayed in the US training almost four months, so I think in the second fight I’ll be relaxed, more experienced and give a better performance,” he added.
Learning curve
The Tibet-born fighter has spent his camp at the famed American Top Team in Florida and has been making the most of his time there.
“I’m so happy training at ATT. They have a lot of tough fighters there to push me and help me improve fast. I learned a lot from Mike Brown. I’m doing a lot of ground stuff like submissions, and I learned a lot from him.”
Rong’s compatriot Weili Zhang captured the UFC strawweight title. He would love to have a similar impact and to establish himself as ‘The Chinese Jon Jones’.
