UFC China Academy suffers 0-3 whitewash on Dana White’s Contender Series

Xie Bin, Yan Qihui and Xiao Long all lose on week nine of season five, as wait goes on for a first Chinese fighter to win a contract

‘If you look at how competitive the fights were, it’s a good thing,’ UFC president White says of Shanghai Performance Institute, however

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Olivier Murad is awarded a split decision against Xie Bin on Dana White's Contender Series. Photos: Jeff Bottari/ Zuffa LLC

Published: 2:20pm, 27 Oct 2021Updated: 10:55pm, 27 Oct 2021

The UFC’s US$13 million, state-of-the-art Shanghai Performance Institute promised so much for Chinese mixed martial arts when it opened nearly two-and-a-half years ago.

But Tuesday night threw up another three defeats for the UFC China Academy on American soil, with Xie Bin, Xiao Long, and Yan Qihui all fluffing their chance at winning a UFC contract – and a ticket to the big dance – on Dana White’s Contender Series.

UFC president White insisted the Shanghai PI was still a worthy investment, however, when asked by MMA Junkie’s John Morgan at the post-event press conference inside the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas, following the ninth episode of the show’s fifth season.

“One hundred per cent. If you look at the fights and how competitive the fights were, yeah, it’s a good thing, man,” said White, who revealed the company will be breaking ground on a third Performance Institute in Mexico City, to go along with Shanghai and the fight capital of the world.

Former ONE Championship star Xie (8-3) perhaps put up the best showing for China, suffering a tight split decision loss to Haiti’s “Warrior of God” Olivier Murad (6-0) in the opening bout of the night.