Check out all the Road To UFC action that went down Sunday August 27th in Kallang, Singapore to establish who will fight in the tournament semi-finals.
After a solid night of fights with UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie, the mixed martial arts promotion wasn’t done at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. The octagon stayed up and was reset for another full card of fighting with the Road To UFC semi-finals.
Road To UFC is a bit of an odd duck tournament that gets barely any promotion in North America. It’s kind of like a Contender Series for Asian MMA prospects, but instead of tickling the fancy of UFC president Dana White, fighters have to win a three round tournament to earn a contract.
On Sunday night in Singapore (Sunday morning here in North America), the semi-finals for the second season of Road To UFC went down, and there wasn’t too much in the way of finishes.
In a non-tournament flyweight bout, Nyamjargal Tumendemberel submitted Peter Danasoe in the first round with a vicious rear-naked choke to start the event.
NO LET UP FROM NYAMJARGAL TUMENDEMBEREL TO END IT
Now THAT’S how you kick off the #RoadToUFC semifinals!!! pic.twitter.com/2jwJtLzkUo
— UFC (@ufc) August 27, 2023
In one of the bantamweight tournament semi-finals, Lee Chang-ho earned a TKO win over Daermisi Zhawupasi in the third round.
ChangHo Lee turning the tables late in R3!!! #RoadToUFC pic.twitter.com/r9LOV0r8wK
— UFC (@ufc) August 27, 2023
Check out the full results from the evening and further highlights below!
Nyamjargal Tumendemberel defeats Peter Danesoe by Submission, Rear Naked Choke, Round 1, 1:02 (non-tournament bout)
Rei Tsuruya (30-27, 29-28, 29-27) defeats Mark Climaco by Unanimous Decision (flyweight semi-final bout)
Yizha (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) defeats SangWon Kim by Unanimous Decision (featherweight semi-final bout)
Jiniushiyue (30-27, 30-27, 20-27) defeats Seung Guk Choi by Unanimous Decision (flyweight semi-final bout)
Kaiwen (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) defeats Koya Kanda by Unanimous Decision (featherweight semi-final bout)
Xiao Long (29-28, 29-27, 28-28) defeats Shuya Kamikubo by Majority Decision (bantamweight semi-final bout)
Rongzhu (30-26, 29-28, 29-28) defeats Sang Uk Kim by Unanimous Decision (lightweight semi-final bout)
ChangHo Lee defeats Daermisi Zhawupasi by TKO, Round 3, 3:35 (bantamweight semi-final bout)
Shin Haraguchi (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) defeats Jae Hyun Park by Unanimous Decision (lightweight semi-final bout)
The finals are now set:
Flyweight tournament: Rei Tsuruya (JPN) vs. Ji Niushiyue (CHN)
Bantamweight tournament: Xiao Long (CHN) vs. Lee Chang-ho (KOR)
Featherweight tournament: Yizha (CHN) vs. Li Kai Wen (CHN)
Lightweight tournament: Rongzhu (CHN) vs. Shin Haraguchi (JPN)
It’s safe to say that Rong Zhu doesn’t mind who he fights in the finals! ?
Watch #RoadToUFC LIVE on @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/gn8suyvyjm
— UFC_Asia (@UFC_Asia) August 27, 2023
In support for the South Koreans!
South Korean celebrity Go Kyung Pyo came to support his men at the #RoadToUFC semis!
Watch all the action LIVE on @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/GhL8LV5sTj
— UFC_Asia (@UFC_Asia) August 27, 2023
These guys are just letting it fly ?? #RoadToUFC pic.twitter.com/uSN10Il4zs
— UFC (@ufc) August 27, 2023