Feature: Bad blood leading to throwback MMA in China?

FILE PHOTO - A man practises Tai Chi at the Bund in Shanghai, China.Last week a mixed martial artist took on a Tai Chi master in a crowded gym in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. But for the modern rash guard and the preponderance of smart phones that ringed the jigsawed mat room, you might have mistaken the contest for a Gracie Challenge or Vale Tudo bout; much like what signaled the dawning of mixed martial arts and eventually the UFC.

The competitors in this duel, which began as an online quarrel, were Xu Xiaodong and Wei Lei. Gilaine Ng of The Straits Times described Xu, who is director of the Beijing MMA Association, as a ‘free-combat sportsman who taught himself MMA.’ Wei Lei was labeled a…