UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang

Last updated
UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang
UFC Fight Night 257.jpg
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang
Promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship
DateAugust 23, 2025 (2025-08-23)
Venue Shanghai Indoor Stadium
City Shanghai, China
AttendanceNot announced [1]
Event chronology
UFC 319: du Plessis vs. Chimaev UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs. Borralho

UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang (also known as UFC Fight Night 257 and UFC on ESPN+ 115) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 23, 2025, at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium in Shanghai, China. [2]

Contents

Background

The event marked the promotion's second visit to Shanghai and first since UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Gastelum in November 2017. It was also the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that the UFC has returned to Mainland China. [2] The promotion was originally expected to make their return to the location at UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutiérrez in December 2023, before moving that event to Las Vegas due to undisclosed reasons. [3]

A light heavyweight bout between Johnny Walker and Zhang Mingyang headlined this event. [4]

A catchweight bout between former UFC Featherweight Championship challenger Brian Ortega and former UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling took place in a five round co-headliner. [5] Originally slated as a featherweight bout, it was changed to a catchweight of 153 pounds after reports that Ortega had complications during his weight cut. [6]

Shi Ming and Bruna Brasil were expected to meet in a women's strawweight bout at the event. [7] However, the pairing was pulled in order to serve as the featured bout of the Road to UFC Season 4 semifinals event a day earlier. [8]

A welterweight bout between Song Kenan and Kiefer Crosbie was scheduled for this event. [9] However, Song withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Taiyilake Nueraji. [10]

In addition, a middleweight bout between Michel Pereira and Marco Tulio was also scheduled for this event. [11] However, Tulio withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by returning veteran Kyle Daukaus. [10]

Results

Main card (ESPN+)
Weight classMethodRoundTimeNotes
Light Heavyweight Johnny Walker def. Zhang Mingyang TKO (leg kicks and punches)22:37
Catchweight (153 lb) Aljamain Sterling def. Brian Ortega Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–45)55:00
Heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich def. Waldo Cortes-Acosta Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)35:00
Flyweight Su Mudaerji def.Kevin BorjasDecision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)35:00
WelterweightTaiyilake Nuerajidef.Kiefer CrosbieTKO (elbows)13:33 [a]
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
LightweightGauge Youngdef.Maheshate HayisaerDecision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)35:00
Flyweight Charles Johnson def.Lone'er KavanaghKO (punch)24:35
Lightweight Rong Zhu def. Austin Hubbard Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)35:00
Middleweight Kyle Daukaus def. Michel Pereira KO (punches and elbows)10:43
FeatherweightYi Zhadef.Westin WilsonKO (punches)10:37
BantamweightYou Su-youngdef.Xiao LongDecision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)35:00
Light HeavyweightUran Satybaldievdef.Diyar NurgozhaySubmission (Ezekiel choke)12:45
  1. ↑ Nueraji was deducted two points in round 1 due to an illegal knee.

[12]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. [13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mike Bohn (2025-08-26). "UFC Fight Night 257 post-event facts: Michel Pereira hits new low". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  2. 1 2 Farah Hannoun (2025-05-22). "UFC returns to Shanghai in August for Fight Night event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
  3. ↑ Damon Martin (2023-11-15). "UFC Shanghai card expected to shift to Las Vegas on Dec. 9". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
  4. ↑ Marina Magomedova (2025-05-21). "Source: Walker to fight Zhang on August 23 at UFC Shanghai event". telecomasia.net. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
  5. ↑ Mike Bohn (2025-06-25). "Brian Ortega vs. Aljamain Sterling added to UFC Shanghai; Walker vs. Zhang headlines". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  6. ↑ Damon Martin (2025-08-21). "UFC Shanghai weigh-in results: Brian Ortega vs. Aljamain Sterling changed to catchweight fight". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-08-21.
  7. ↑ Gaspar Bruno (2025-06-12). "Hostile environment! Bruna Brasil faces Chinese rival at UFC Shanghai in August". agfight.com. Retrieved 2025-06-12.(in Brazilian Portuguese)
  8. ↑ Staff (2025-06-25). "UFC returns to Shanghai with a blockbuster main event battle of ranking light heavyweights Johnny Walker (#12) vs Zhang Mingyang (#14)". ufc.com. Archived from the original on 2025-06-26. Retrieved 2025-06-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ Harry Kettle (2025-07-10). "UFC Shanghai: 'Walker vs Mingyang' fight card & start tsimes". bjpenn.com. Retrieved 2025-07-11.
  10. 1 2 Drew Beaupre (2025-08-05). "UFC reportedly brings back fighter after nearly 3 years to save Shanghai matchup". si.com. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  11. ↑ Luís Antonio Cardoso (2025-06-12). "Duelo eletrizante entre brasileiros é anunciado para UFC China; veja detalhes". superlutas.com.br. Retrieved 2025-06-13.(in Brazilian Portuguese)
  12. ↑ "UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Zhang". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  13. ↑ Newswire (2025-08-23). "Four bonuses awarded at UFC Shanghai". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
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