UFC: China’s ‘Wolverine’ Shayilan Nuerdanbieke fights for the pride of his people on debut
- Featherweight makes his bow at UFC Vegas 27 against Australian Joshua Culibao
- ‘I’m from a minority race so I know how much this means to everyone,’ Shayilan says
The story of Shayilan Nuerdanbieke and his road to the UFC reveals much about how far the promotion has now reached into China and, also, how much the two entities are still exploring each other.
While Nuerdanbieke (19-6) fights as a Chinese national, he is, by birth, part of the Kazakh minority, which traces its history back past the 15th century – and he says he has a point to prove in that regard when he takes to the Octagon to make his UFC debut this weekend against Australian featherweight Joshua “Kuya” Culibao (8-1-1) on the UFC Vegas 27 card.
“I’m from a minority race so I know how much this means to everyone, to be the first of my people to fight in the UFC,” Nuerdanbieke, told SCMP MMA from Las Vegas. “Everyone’s very excited and they’re rooting for me. I’ll go out there and make them proud.”
Nuerdanbieke explains that his people like to fight, and that they are famed for their prowess on horseback and in the distinctive style of Kazakh wrestling that a quick check across the internet reveals, in its truest form, has its origins in the ancient Kazakh military as it prepared its warriors for battle.