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 DateDivisionsLocationRef.
Road to UFC Season 2 May 27, 2023Lightweight; Featherweight; Bantamweight; Flyweight.Shanghai, Singapore [6]
Road to UFC Season 1 June 8, 2022February 4, 2023Lightweight; Featherweight; Bantamweight; Flyweight.Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United States [7]

Tournament winners

NameContractsRef.
Road to UFC Season 1 Anshul Jubli (lightweight); Jeong Yeong Lee (featherweight); Rinya Nakamura (bantamweight); Hyun Sung Park (Flyweight). [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultimate Fighting Championship</span> American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA promotion in the world as of 2023. It produces events worldwide that showcase 11 weight divisions and abides by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. As of 2022, it had held over 600 events. Dana White has been its president since 2001 and CEO since 2023. Under White's stewardship, it has grown into a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise.

Martín Bravo is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Combate Global. He has previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Johnson (fighter)</span> American mixed martial arts fighter

Michael Johnson is an American professional mixed martial artist. Johnson currently fights in the Lightweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Johnson mostly competed in his regional circuit, before signing onto the Ultimate Fighting Championship to appear on The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck, in which he was the runner-up.

Tim Elliott is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former Titan FC Flyweight Champion. He has been professional competitor since 2009 and is in his second tenure with the UFC. He is a four-time winner of bonuses in the UFC, winning Fight of the Night three times, Performance of the Night once and won The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions. As of March 5, 2024, he is #9 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yair Rodríguez</span> Mexican mixed martial artist (born 1992)

Yair Raziel Rodríguez Portillo is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Featherweight Champion. Rodríguez has been with the UFC since 2014 after winning The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight tournament. As of February 27, 2024, he is #4 in the UFC featherweight rankings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Gaethje</span> American mixed martial artist (born 1988)

Justin Ray Gaethje is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, he is a former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion, and the current UFC BMF Champion. He is the second fighter in the history of the UFC to be awarded the BMF championship after winning the title at UFC 291. As of August 1, 2023, he is #2 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

Matthew Christopher Schnell is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Schnell formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he is a former Legacy Fighting Alliance Flyweight Champion. As of March 5, 2024, he is #11 in the UFC flyweight rankings.

Yan Xiaonan is a Chinese professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 23, 2024, she is #1 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings and #10 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.

Alex Nicholson is an American professional mixed martial artist formally competing in the heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2014, he has competed for the UFC and Legacy Fighting Alliance.

Kurt Holobaugh is an American professional mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Macy Chiasson is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). She was the Women's Featherweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 28 and currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 19, 2024, she is #6 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings.

Wuliji Buren is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Koyomi Matsushima is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division and has previously fought in ONE Championship and Pancrase. Matsushima has faced strong opposition with the likes of Dave Leduc, Marat Gafurov, and Garry Tonon.

Larissa Pacheco is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the PFL. She won the 2022 PFL Women's Lightweight Championship and 2023 PFL Women's Featherweight Championship. As of October 2023, she is ranked #2 in the women's featherweight rankings by Fight Matrix.

Rinya Nakamura is a Japanese mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler who currently competes in the bantamweight division. Competing at 61 kilograms, Nakamura became the 2017 U23 World Champion during his wrestling career, before retiring at age 25 to pursue mixed martial arts.

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Peña vs. Team Nunes is a 2022 installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter on ESPN+. Former UFC women's bantamweight champion and current UFC women's featherweight champion Amanda Nunes and UFC women's bantamweight champion Julianna Peña will coach the season of TUF and the show will feature contestants at heavyweights and women's flyweights will be featured on the season. The pair was initially expected to meet on August 7, 2021, at UFC 265 in a title bout, However, Nunes tested positive for COVID-19 on July 29 and the bout was cancelled. The fight was rescheduled and eventually took place at UFC 269 on December 11, 2021 where Peña won the championship by submitting Nunes. The two coaches met again for the bantamweight title at UFC 277, where Nunes regained her title in a unanimous decision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UFC 275</span> Mixed martial arts event in 2022

UFC 275: Teixeira vs. Procházka was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 12, 2022, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

Road to UFC Season 1 is the 2022 cycle of Road to UFC, a mixed martial arts event series in which top Asian MMA prospects compete to win contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). It features four divisions—flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight—each for which eight fighters compete in a "win-and-advance" tournament format. The tournament winner for each division is awarded a UFC contract. Each event in the series features five bouts including one non-tournament bout.

Jeka Asparido Saragih is an Indonesian mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he became the first person from Indonesia to qualify for the final of Road to UFC Season 1, after defeating Ki Won Bin in the semifinal by knockout. He is the first Indonesian fighter to sign with the UFC.

Road to UFC Season 2 is the 2023 cycle of Road to UFC, a mixed martial arts (MMA) event series in which top Asian MMA prospects compete to win contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

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. "Road To UFC Season 2 Kicked Off With Intense Quarterfinals". International Business Times. 2023-05-28. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  7. 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.
  8. "Rinya Nakamura shines as Road to UFC crowns four tournament winners". Bloody Elbow. 2023-02-05. Retrieved 2023-07-16.