Zara Malik Is A Standout In Cobra Kai Season 6

Warning: SPOILERS for Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 2Cobra Kai season 6 part 2 introduces Zara Malik (Rayna Vallandingham), a standout new villain and opponent for Miyagi-Do. Zara is a member of the Iron Dragons, one of the 16 international teams competing in the Sekai Taikai tournament in Barcelona. Zara is a new kind of teenage antagonist joining the cast of Cobra Kai season 6, and Rayna Vallandingham is impactful and fun to watch in every scene she’s in.




The Iron Dragons from Bangkok, Thailand, are the most formidable team in Cobra Kai season 6’s Sekai Taikai tournament. Led by Sensei Wolf (Lewis Tan), Zara Malik shares the honor of being team captain with the foreboding Axel Kovacevic (Patrick Lewus). The Sekai Taikai is a mix of boys and girls, but there’s no division of the sexes. Male and female Sekai Taikai teens fight each other equally, and Zara proves to be a difficult challenge for the members of Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai.


Zara Malik Is Played By Rayna Vallandingham, A Real Life Martial Arts Champion

Rayna Vallandingham Brings Authenticity To Cobra Kai’s Fight Scenes


Zara Malik is so effective in Cobra Kai season 6, part 2, because Rayna Vallandingham is a real-life world champion martial artist. The 21-year-old American-born Vallandingham is the youngest martial artist to win 13 world championships. A 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Rayna was only 8 years old when she became the youngest fighter ever to win four World Titles, racking up another 6 World Championships the following year. Vallandingham is also a brand ambassador, model, and actor, starring as Letcicia in director Phillip Ree’s film, Underdogs.

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Cobra Kai‘s cast learned karate for their roles, but Rayna Vallandingham comes from an elite martial arts background. Rayna’s real-life skills add undeniable authenticity to her Cobra Kai fight scenes as Zaya Malik. Zara is also a social media influencer who is being sponsored by brands to compete in the Sekai Taikai. Vallandingham easily and convincingly puts on the airs of a brand ambassador with millions of followers since it’s not a stretch from her everyday life.


Zara Malik Is Great In Cobra Kai Against Tory & Robby

Zara Is The Teenage Villain Cobra Kai Needed

Tory and Zara in Cobra Kai

Zara Malik is a particularly effective and entertaining foil for Tory Nichols (Peyton List) and Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan) in Cobra Kai season 6. Tory immediately underestimates Zara because of her size and pays for it. Malik has speed and technique that simply outclass Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do’s best, and she also brings a viciousness learned from Wolf, her sensei. Zara and Axel lead the Iron Dragons to dominant performances in the Sekai Taikai, with Malik even viciously pummeling Tory in Cobra Kai season 6, episode 10’s wild brawl.

Hopefully, Rayna Vallandingham will be back for the final episodes of

Cobra Kai

season 6.


Off the mat, however, Zara Malik is conniving and uses her sex appeal to maximum advantage. Zara sets her sights on Robby and tries to break him and Tory apart. Zara also callously dismisses Samantha LaRusso (Mary Mouser) and Devon Lee (Oona O’Brien), two native Californians who feel secretly inadequate that they’re not as world-traveled as Zara and the Iron Dragons. Hopefully, Rayna Vallandingham will be back for the final episodes of Cobra Kai season 6, as she has unfinished business with Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai.