Road to UFC

Last updated

Road to UFC is a recurring mixed martial arts (MMA) event series in which top Asian MMA prospects compete to win contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Contents

Overview

Structured into "seasons" and "episodes," it features a number of fighter weight divisions—each for which fighters compete in a "win-and-advance" tournament format. [1] Each event in the series, or "episode," features one bout for each division tournament, and one non-tournament bout. [2] [3] [4] The opening quarterfinal round is typically held hosting four events over a two-day span, with two episodes for each day. The semifinal round is held a few months later. Each season culminates with the tournament finals, which take place during preliminary card of a UFC Fight Night event. The tournament winner for each division is awarded a UFC contract.

The "Road to UFC" branding was previously used in 2015 for Road to UFC: Japan, a similar Japan-based tournament awarding a UFC contract, but formatted as a reality competition, and marketed as an Asian-centric analog to The Ultimate Fighter. [2] Despite the reuse of the "Road to UFC" brand, similar Asian MMA focus, and season/episode nomenclature, the UFC has not characterized the newer event series as inclusive of the earlier 2015 reality competition, and has described the 2022 tournament cycle as the "inaugural tournament," referring to it as "Season 1". [5]

Seasons

NameStart DateEnd DateVenueLocationRef.
Season 4 May 22, 2025 UFC Performance Institute Shanghai Shanghai, China
Shanghai Indoor Stadium
Season 3 May 18, 2024May 23, 2025 UFC Performance Institute Shanghai Shanghai, China [6]
UFC Apex Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Season 2 May 27, 2023June 22, 2024 UFC Performance Institute Shanghai Shanghai, China [7]
Singapore Indoor Stadium Kallang, Singapore
UFC Apex Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Kingdom Arena Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Season 1 June 8, 2022February 4, 2023 Singapore Indoor Stadium Kallang, Singapore [8]
Etihad Arena Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
UFC Apex Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

Tournament winners

NameFinaleDivisionWinnerRunner-up
Road to UFC Season 1 Feb 4, 2023 Lightweight Flag of India.svg Anshul Jubli Flag of Indonesia.svg Jeka Saragih
Featherweight Flag of South Korea.svg Lee Jeong-yeong Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Yi Zha
Bantamweight Flag of Japan.svg Rinya Nakamura Flag of Japan.svg Toshiomi Kazama
Flyweight Flag of South Korea.svg Park Hyun-sung Flag of South Korea.svg Choi Seung-guk
Road to UFC Season 2 Feb 3, 2024 Lightweight Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Rong Zhu Flag of Japan.svg Shin Haraguchi
Featherweight Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Yi Zha Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Li Kaiwen
Flyweight Flag of Japan.svg Rei Tsuruya Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ji Niushiyue
Jun 22, 2024 Bantamweight Flag of South Korea.svg Lee Chang-ho Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Xiao Long
Road to UFC Season 3 Nov 23, 2024 Bantamweight Flag of South Korea.svg You Su-young Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Baergeng Jieleyisi
Flyweight Flag of South Korea.svg Choi Dong-hun Flag of England.svg Kiru Singh Sahota
Women's Strawweight Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Shi Ming Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Feng Xiaocan
May 23, 2025 Featherweight Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Kangjie Zhu Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Bin Xie

References

  1. See single-elimination tournament.
  2. 1 2 Pettry, Jay (22 April 2022). "UFC Launching 'Road to UFC' Tourney in Singapore, Featuring 4 Brackets in June". Sherdog. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  3. "ROAD TO UFC Opening Round Bouts Announced | Taiwan News | 2022-05-23 10:00:00". Taiwan News. 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  4. Tabuena, Anton (2022-05-23). "Road to UFC: Four Asian tournament brackets, non-tournament bouts finalized". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  5. "Road To UFC Returns For Season 2 With Opening Round On May 27 & 28 | UFC". www.ufc.com. 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  6. Anderson, Jay (23 April 2024). "Road to UFC Season 3 Tournament Announced, Women's Strawweight Added". Cageside Press. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  7. "Road To UFC Season 2 Kicked Off With Intense Quarterfinals". International Business Times. 2023-05-28. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  8. Cox, Susan (2022-04-22). "The UFC officially announce the "Road to the UFC" Tournament in Singapore leading up to UFC 275". | BJPenn.com. Retrieved 2022-04-25.