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Tag: UFC Macau

  • VIDEO: Zhang Mingyang Sends Home Crowd Wild With Career’s 18th First-Round Finish At UFC Macau

    VIDEO: Zhang Mingyang Sends Home Crowd Wild With Career’s 18th First-Round Finish At UFC Macau

    Zhang Mingyang’s incredible run in MMA continued as he racked up yet another first-round knockout, defeating Ozzy Diaz to start off the UFC Macau main card.

    Just over two minutes into the fight, Mingyang landed a step-in elbow from distance that dropped Diaz. He then finished the fight with a series of ground-and-pound strikes.

    According to the UFC on social media, this was the first time in UFC light heavyweight history — and the 10th time in UFC history altogether — that a fight was finished due to this elbow strike.

    Zhang Mingyang Continues Long Streak Of First-Round KOs At UFC Macau

    After coming into the UFC off a win over Tuco Tokkos in 2022, Mingyang is now 2-0 in the Octagon after finishing Brendson Ribeiro earlier this year at UFC 298. The Chinese standout has incredibly won all 18 of his career wins by way of first-round finishes.

    Meanwhile, this fight marked the UFC debut for Diaz, who is a former LFA middleweight champion.

  • VIDEO: Chinese Doctor Who Hid MMA Career From Parents Wins Road To UFC With Violent Head-Kick KO

    VIDEO: Chinese Doctor Who Hid MMA Career From Parents Wins Road To UFC With Violent Head-Kick KO

    Perhaps the most notable thing about Shi Ming entering her fight at UFC Macau today was the fact that, despite working as a doctor and being a TikTok sensation, her parents and colleagues had no idea of her MMA activity.

    That may not be for much longer after she landed a jaw-dropping, brutal knockout of Feng Xiaocan to win the strawweight bracket of the Road to UFC tournament.

    Early in the third round, Ming made her impact by landing a head kick that came suddenly, dropping Xiaocan in dramatic fashion to earn the knockout victory.

    Shi Ming Wins Road To UFC Tournament With Violent Head Kick KO

    Xiaocan was unresponsive for some time, with a stretcher and neck brace required as she exited the Octagon. Xiaocan, according to the commentary team, was being transported to the hospital in the aftermath of the fight.

    Ming has now won five straight fights and 11 of her last 12. Meanwhile, this was Xiaocan’s first loss since dropping her third and fourth professional bouts, winning eight consecutive outings prior to tonight.

    The UFC Fight Night at Macau’s Galaxy Arena is set to be headlined by a crucial bantamweight bout between former champion Petr Yan and ex-flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo.

  • Carlos Ulberg Comments On The Recent Success Of Kickboxers In MMA: ‘It’s A Universal Language’

    Carlos Ulberg Comments On The Recent Success Of Kickboxers In MMA: ‘It’s A Universal Language’

    City Kickboxing’s Carlos Ulberg looks to earn his seventh win in a row inside the Octagon this weekend when he returns in Macau to face former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. The #10-ranked contender at light heavyweight is one of many fighters from his gym and on the UFC roster as a whole that came into the sport with a background in kickboxing.

    Kickboxing has always been a well represented skill set in MMA but for a long time, a lot of these specialist strikers tended to have a cap on their capabilities. It was only the ones that were able to really improve their overall game who achieved a lot of success at the highest level.

    The likes of Ulberg’s teammate Israel Adesanya and the champion of his weight class, Alex Pereira, have shown what is possible for elite level strikers that are able to adapt their games for the Octagon. In a recent interview with Kevin Iole ahead of his return this weekend, Ulberg spoke about the growing number of kickboxers and the success they have in MMA.

    He believes that the main difference is that there is far more emphasis now on creating a skillset for MMA, rather than being a striker with some wrestling and jiu-jitsu added on. This can also be seen with Adesanya saying that other kickboxers from his gym like Navajo Stirling are more well-rounded than he is because they’ve adopted this approach earlier on.

    “A lot more attention is going to MMA in particular. There is not one particular where everyone’s just got a few more tricks now to present themselves with and I feel like if you don’t have the full package then you’re not going to go very far in the division.

    “It’s a universal language when it comes to MMA right now where you kind of have to build all of your skill set in terms of your grappling as well as your stand up game.”

  • UFC Fight Night: Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Weigh-In Results

    UFC Fight Night: Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Weigh-In Results

    UFC Fight Night: Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo takes place on Saturday, and MMA News is here to bring you the official weigh-in results!

    Before heading back to Las Vegas to stage its final pay-per-view of the year at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 7, the mixed martial arts leader has Fight Night business to attend to across the world in Macau.

    The main event presents an opportunity for ex-flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo to further climb the ranks at 135 pounds. “Deus Da Guerra’s” fourth outing in the division will come against former titleholder Petr Yan, who is looking to stake his claim for a chance to regain the title off the back of a key win over Song Yadong earlier this year.

    Before that, the likes of former strawweight title challenger Yan Xiaonan, will all be in action, flyweight prospect Wang Cong, and hard-hitting light heavyweights Volkan Oezdemir and Carlos Ulberg will be in action.

    UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Figueiredo Weigh-In Results

    UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Figueiredo takes place on Saturday, November 23, at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China. The main card begins at 6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT, with the preliminary card starting at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT.

    Check out the full results from the weigh-ins below!

    Main Card:

    • Bantamweight Main Event: Petr Yan (135.5lbs) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (135lbs)
    • Women’s Strawweight Co-Main Event: Yan Xiaonan (116lbs) vs. Tabatha Ricci (115.5lbs)
    • Welterweight: Song Kenan (171lbs) vs. Muslim Salikhov (170.5lbs)
    • Women’s Flyweight: Wang Cong (126lbs) vs. Gabriella Fernandes (126lbs)
    • Light Heavyweight: Volkan Oezdemir (206lbs) vs. Carlos Ulberg (205.5lbs)
    • Light Heavyweight: Zhang Mingyang (205lbs) vs. Ozzy Diaz (205lbs)

    Preliminary Card:

    • Road to UFC Bantamweight Final: SuYoung You (135.5lbs) vs. Jieleyisi Baergeng (235lbs)
    • Road to UFC Flyweight Final: Kiru Singh Sahota (126lbs) vs. DongHun Choi (125.5lbs)
    • Road to UFC Women’s Strawweight Final: Xiaocan Feng (115lbs) vs. Ming Shi (115.5lbs)
    • Flyweight: Nyamjargal Tumendemberel (125.5lbs) vs. Carlos Hernandez (125.5lbs)
    • Flyweight: Lone’er Kavanagh (126lbs) vs. Jose Ochoa (125lbs)
    • Bantamweight: Long Xiao (135lbs) vs. Le Quang (126lbs)
    • Lightweight: Maheshate Hayisaer (155.5lbs) vs. Nikolas Motta (155lbs)
  • Deiveson Figueiredo Says Petr Yan ‘Won’t Even Compare’ To Him In One Area

    Deiveson Figueiredo Says Petr Yan ‘Won’t Even Compare’ To Him In One Area

    Top five bantamweights meet for the first time in this weekend’s UFC Macau main event in what should be a fascinating clash of styles. When it comes to fighters who are always exciting to watch, former UFC champions Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo have to be on that list.

    Both men are very well-rounded competitors but it’s no secret that they prefer to keep the fight standing the majority of the time. The idea of seeing Yan’s incredible combinations going up against the one-punch power of Figueiredo is enough to get fight fans tuning in from all over the world but the former flyweight king believes that he holds a huge advantage over his next opponent in one specific area.

    Since moving up to bantamweight following the conclusion of his four fights with Brandon Moreno, Figueiredo has beaten Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Vera. Though he chose to grapple against Garbrandt, where he secured the submission win at UFC 300, “Deus da Guerra” is usually happy to stand and strike because of the power he possesses and the speed advantage he has at 135-pounds.

    In a recent interview with Kevin Iole, the Brazilian was asked about Yan’s lack of finishes in his recent fights. Figueiredo responded by saying, via translator Fabiano Buskei, that he respects the striking of “No Mercy” and is looking forward to testing him there even though, in his opinion, he is levels above him in the grappling.

    “I did see the flaws and he poses a threat there on the kickboxing side but I mean, I won’t even compare his grappling to mine because I just think I’m so much better. I mean I’m a threat at grappling, he does not want to grapple with me. He’d get taken down and finished in that but I want to use my punching power and I want to knock him out in this fight.”    

  • Petr Yan: Nurmagomedov Not A Worthy Challenger, UFC Macau Main Event Is ‘No. 1 Contender’s Fight’ 

    Petr Yan: Nurmagomedov Not A Worthy Challenger, UFC Macau Main Event Is ‘No. 1 Contender’s Fight’ 

    Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan believes a victory this weekend should put him above Umar Nurmagomedov in the pecking order.

    Yan is set to headline Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Macau, as the promotion returns to the region for the first time in a decade. Inside the Galaxy Arena, “No Mercy” will do battle with ex-flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo.

    For Yan, the upcoming event marks the opportunity for him to secure a first win streak since he captured the 135-pound crown at the expense of José Aldo in 2020. He subsequently went on a difficult 1-4 run before bouncing back against Song Yadong at UFC 299 this past March.

    Figueiredo, meanwhile, has enjoyed a perfect start to life as bantamweight, winning all three of his fights to date and most recently getting past Marlon “Chito” Vera in comfortable fashion.

    That result left newly crowned champ Merab Dvalishvili branding “Deus Da Guerra” a more worthy first challenger to his reign than the consensus number one contender, Dagestan’s Nurmagomedov.

    And during an interview with the UFC ahead of his clash with Figueiredo in the “Las Vegas of the East,” Yan suggested that the Georgian’s stance — which he agrees with — could pave the way for his second dance with “The Machine” in 2025.

    “Deiveson is a former champ, and also Merab has been saying that he’s the only real deserving challenger for his belt,” Yan said through an interpreter. “So for me, it’s a good opportunity for me to get this position, to beat him and challenge for the belt instead of him.

    “I believe this is a No. 1 contender’s fight,” Yan continued. “Merab is currently champ, but I believe that he’s not ready to defend his title just yet, especially against Umar. It seems like he is avoiding him. Also, Umar, I believe he maybe needs a couple of good wins too. So, with a win over Deiveson, I believe that I can get back into the title picture and challenge for the belt again.”

    Yan fell to a three-fight losing skid in March 2023 when he was handily defeated across five rounds by Dvalishvili. But should he stall Figueiredo’s two-division ambitions in Macau this week, “No Mercy” is hoping to have the chance for redemption.

    Nurmagomedov would no doubt have something to say about that, however. He’s been widely branded next in line for a shot at the gold ever since he outpointed the highly regarded Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi this past August.

  • VIDEO: Petr Yan & Deiveson Figueiredo Have First Faceoff Ahead Of UFC Macau Main Event

    VIDEO: Petr Yan & Deiveson Figueiredo Have First Faceoff Ahead Of UFC Macau Main Event

    Top bantamweights Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo stood toe to toe just days out from their UFC Macau headliner.

    After staging its latest pay-per-view event inside the prestigious surroundings of Madison Square Garden this past weekend, the mixed martial arts leader is on the road for a return to the “Las Vegas of the East.”

    The Octagon is back in Macau — an autonomous region on the south coast of China — for the first time in a decade, with the Galaxy Arena playing host to a UFC Fight Night card on Nov. 23.

    The lineup will be topped by a key clash at 135 pounds, as ex-champion Yan looks to stall the two-division ambitions of former two-time flyweight kingpin Figueiredo.

    Ahead of the #3 and #5-ranked bantamweights colliding, the pair had their first faceoff on Tuesday after touching down for UFC Macau.

    Figueiredo has won all three of his fights since moving up from flyweight, most recently following wins over Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt with a convincing triumph over former title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera.

    Yan, meanwhile, snapped his three-fight losing skid this year by getting the better of Song Yadong at UFC 299 in Miami this past March. The result marked his first taste of victory since interim title glory over Cory Sandhagen back in 2021.

    Elsewhere on Saturday’s UFC Macau lineup, Yan Xiaonan returns for the first time since her failed title bid to defend her ranking against Tabatha Ricci, while top-10 light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir faces a fellow hard hitter in Carlos Ulberg.

  • UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: Bryan Battle Gets UFC 310 Return

    UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: Bryan Battle Gets UFC 310 Return

    MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to upcoming cards.

    With events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.

    Between Monday, October 14, and Sunday, October 20, a number of fights were made official by the promotion or reported by reputable sources. For those matchups, check out the list below:

    But it wasn’t all positive, with one fight being adjusted. For that, see below:

  • UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: Chris Curtis Added To First 2025 Lineup

    MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to upcoming cards.

    With UFC events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.

    Between Monday, September 30, and Sunday, October 6, a couple of notable fights were made official by the UFC or reported by reputable sources. For more information on those matchups, check out the links below:

    A number of lower-profile matchups also came together. For those, check out this week’s quick hits:

  • Yan Xiaonan, Carlos Ulberg, & More Added To UFC Macau Card On Nov. 23

    Yan Xiaonan, Carlos Ulberg, & More Added To UFC Macau Card On Nov. 23

    The lineup has come together for the mixed martial arts leader’s return to China for a UFC Fight Night card inside Macau’s Galaxy Arena.

    November 23 will see Octagon action take place in Macau for the first time in over a decade. And the promotion is set to bring plenty of notable names along with it to the Chinese region.

    That includes for the main event, which was recently revealed to pit ex-bantamweight champion Petr Yan against former two-time flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo in a crucial clash at 135 pounds.

    And while confirming that on social media, the UFC announced a number of other intriguing matchups. Of note is the next fight for China’s own Yan Xiaonan, as well as charging light heavyweight contender Carlos Ulberg.

    Seven months on from her failed title challenge against Zhang Weili (18-4, 1 NC) at UFC 300, Xiaonan will look to bounce back in front of her home fans against the #9-ranked Tabatha Ricci (11-2). “Baby Shark” has won two straight, most recently outpointing Angela Hill last month.

    Ulberg (10-1), meanwhile, will be making his return after having an injury take away his chance of competing at International Fight Week this past June, where he had matchups with both Jamahal Hill and Anthony Smith fall through.

    He’ll have the chance to consolidate his spot inside the light heavyweight top 10 when he takes on former title challenger and current #6-ranked contender Volkan Oezdemir (20-7) in Macau.

    Also of note is the addition of Wang Cong (6-0), a women’s flyweight prospect who made a thunderous UFC debut at the Apex in August. After brutally knocking out Victoria Leonardo, “The Joker” will compete on home soil in her sophomore Octagon appearance against Gabriella Fernandes (9-3).

    With these additions, the current fights expected to take place at the UFC Fight Night event in Macau on Nov. 23 are as follows:

    • Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (bantamweight main event)
    • Yan Xiaonan vs. Tabatha Ricci (women’s strawweight)
    • Volkan Oezdemir vs. Carlos Ulberg (light heavyweight)
    • Wang Cong vs. Gabriella Fernandes (women’s flyweight)
    • Song Kenan vs. Muslim Salikhov (welterweight)
    • Zhang Mingyang vs. Ozzy Diaz (light heavyweight)
    • Nyamjargal Tumendemberel vs. Carlos Hernandez (flyweight)
    • Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Jose Ochoa (flyweight)
    • Kangjie Zhu vs. Bin Xie (Road to UFC featherweight final)
    • SuYoung You vs. Jieleyisi Baergeng (Road to UFC bantamweight final)
    • Kiru Singh Sahota vs. DongHun Choi (Road to UFC flyweight final)
    • Xiaocan Feng vs. Ming Shi (Road to UFC women’s strawweight final)

  • Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Set For UFC Fight Night In Macau On Nov. 23

    Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo Set For UFC Fight Night In Macau On Nov. 23

    The UFC’s return to Macau looks set to have high stakes in the bantamweight title picture.

    Mixed martial arts’ leading promotion is set to take the Octagon back to Macau — an autonomous region on the south coast of China — for the first time in a decade later this year, with the Galaxy Arena playing host to a UFC Fight Night card on November 23.

    And the lineup looks to have its first major addition in the form of a clash between former champions.

    Per Brazilian reporter LĂ©o Guimaraes, ex-bantamweight kingpin Petr Yan (17-5) and former two-time flyweight titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo (24-3-1) are set to meet in a crucial showdown at 135 pounds in Macau.

    Yan, Figueiredo Expected To Battle For Potential UFC Title Shot In China

    Should this bout be made official, one man could leave Macau with a shot at the bantamweight belt set for down the line.

    For Yan, that would present another chance to regain the divisional title. The Russian previously held it prior to a disqualification loss to Aljamain Sterling in 2021. While he subsequently captured interim status, he fell short against “Funk Master” in their rematch.

    The tough times continued for Yan in the subsequent months. He first suffered a controversial split decision loss to Sean O’Malley in 2022 before being convincingly outpointed by another then-future champ in Merab Dvalishvili the following year. But having bounced back in style by stalling the charge of Song Yadong at UFC 299 this past March, “No Mercy” is now targeting a return to a win streak for the first time since 2020.

    To do so, the Russian standout will have to hand Figueiredo his first defeat at 135 pounds. “Deus Da Guerra” committed to a long-discussed bantamweight switch following the end of his second flyweight rule against Brandon Moreno in early 2023. He’s since reeled off three straight wins to rise to #5 in the rankings, defeating Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt, and Marlon Vera.

    Deiveson Figueiredo
    Image: Chris Unger/UFC/Zuffa LLC