Road to UFC season 2 opening round set for China and Shanghai Performance Institute
- State-of-the-art UFC training facility will host opening round of four tournaments for Asian MMA prospects next month
- Rosters for brackets confirmed, with UFC Asia chief Kevin Chang hoping to provide a ‘clear path’ for talent in the region
The Road to UFC is back – and so is the promotion’s presence in China.
The opening round of season 2 of the tournament for MMA prospects in Asia will be held over May 27-28 at the UFC Shanghai Performance Institute, a statement said on Tuesday, with the rosters for each tournament bracket also confirmed.
While not an official UFC main roster event, Road to UFC will still mark the first show produced by the Las Vegas-based outfit to be held in China since 2019’s Fight Night in Shenzhen. That night, Zhang Weili became an overnight superstar in her home country when she was crowned UFC strawweight champion.
“When we launched Road to UFC last year, we could not have anticipated the tremendous impact it had on building our local talent and fan base in Asia,” Kevin Chang, UFC senior vice-president and head of Asia, said.
“It has surpassed our expectations in all aspects, including followers, engagement, viewership and reach, but most importantly it delivered seven exciting new prospects to UFC.
“Season two will build on this foundation and once again give Asia’s MMA prospects a clear path to UFC.”
Four eight-man tournaments will be held in Season 2, at flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight.
in the lightweight bracket, former UFC competitor and UFC China Academy star Rong Zhu will look to earn his way back to the promotion, starting with a quarter-final clash against South Korea’s Hong Seong-chan.
Rounding out the bracket, Windri Patilima of Indonesia takes on Shin Haraguchi of Japan, while South Korean duo Kim Sang-uk and Ki Won-bin will face Japan’s Kazuma Maruyama and China’s Batebolati Bahatebole respectively.
At flyweight, the four matchups will pit Japan’s Rei Tsuruya against Indonesia’s Ronal Siahaan, Mark Climaco of the Philippines against South Korea’s Lee Jung-hyun, China’s Ji Niushiyue against Billy Pasulatan of Indonesia, and Sumit Kumar of India against South Korea’s Choi Seung-guk.
In the bantamweight bracket, China’s Xiao Long takes on Japan’s Shohei Nose, Shuya Kamikubo faces Jieleyisi Baergeng of China, Indonesia’s Eperaim Ginting battles China’s Daermisi Zhawupasi; and Lee Chang-ho of South Korea faces India’s Rana Rudra Pratap Singh.
At featherweight, China’s Yi Zha will fight Abdul Azeem Badakhshi of Afghanistan, Keisuke Sasu of Japan faces Korea’s Kim Sang-won, Yibugele of China takes on Japan’s Koya Kanda, and former ONE Championship star Li Kaiwen battles Reza Arianto of Indonesia.
The opening round of season 1 of Road to UFC took place at Singapore Indoor Stadium last June, with the second round in Abu Dhabi and the finals in Las Vegas.
The four tournament brackets were won by South Korea’s Park Hyun-sung and Lee Jeong-yeong, Japan’s Rinya Nakamura, and Anshul Jubli of India.
