| Road to UFC Season 2 | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Promotion | UFC |
| First date aired | May 27, 2023 (2023-05-27) |
| ← Road to UFC Season 1Road to UFC Season 3 → | |
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).
Background
The event series 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 is to feature five bouts including one non-tournament bout.
The opening quarterfinal round of the tournament was held across two days, May 27-28, 2023 at the UFC Performance Institute Shanghai, with two five-bout events for each day for a total of 10 bouts per day. The semifinals took place on August 27, 2023 – a day after UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie – at Singapore Indoor Stadium. The finals were held at the UFC Apex facility on February 3, 2024.
Episode 1
| Road to UFC: Episode 1 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Road to UFC |
| Date | May 27, 2023 |
| Venue | UFC Performance Institute Shanghai |
| City | Shanghai, China |
| Main Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Kim Sang-won | def. | Keisuke Sasu | KO (punches) | 2 | 1:42 | |
| Flyweight | Mark Climaco | def. | Lee Jung-hyun | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Yi Zha | def. | Wuziazibieke Jiahefu | Submission (armbar) | 1 | 2:28 | |
| Flyweight | Rei Tsuruya | def. | Ronal Siahaan | Submission (scarf hold armlock) | 2 | 1:19 | |
| Flyweight | Nyamjargal Tumendemberel | def. | Topnoi Kiwram | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
- Featherweight quarterfinals
- Flyweight quarterfinals
- Featherweight quarterfinals
- Flyweight quarterfinals
Episode 2
| Road to UFC: Episode 2 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Road to UFC |
| Date | May 27, 2023 |
| Venue | UFC Performance Institute Shanghai |
| City | Shanghai, China |
| Main Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Li Kaiwen | def. | Lu Kai | KO (punches) | 1 | 1:11 | |
| Flyweight | Choi Seung-guk | def. | Sumit Kumar | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Kouya Kanda | def. | Yibugele | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Ji Niushiyue | def. | Billy Pasulatan | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:04 | |
| Welterweight | Taiyilake Nueraji | def. | Kim Han-seul | KO (elbow) | 2 | 1:38 | |
- Featherweight quarterfinals
- Flyweight quarterfinals
- Featherweight quarterfinals
- Flyweight quarterfinals
Episode 3
| Road to UFC: Episode 3 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Road to UFC |
| Date | May 28, 2023 |
| Venue | UFC Performance Institute Shanghai |
| City | Shanghai, China |
| Main Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Rong Zhu | def. | Hong Seong-chan | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:17 | |
| Bantamweight | Shuya Kamikubo | def. | Jieleyisi Baergeng | Decision (split) (30–27, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Kim Sang-wook | def. | Kazuma Maruyama | Submission (barbo choke) | 1 | 3:08 | |
| Bantamweight | Xiao Long | def. | Shohei Nose | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Yoo Sang-hoon | def. | Chris Hofmann | TKO (knee and punches) | 3 | 3:10 | |
- Lightweight quarterfinals
- Bantamweight quarterfinals
- Lightweight quarterfinals
- Bantamweight quarterfinals
Episode 4
| Road to UFC: Episode 4 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Road to UFC |
| Date | May 28, 2023 |
| Venue | UFC Performance Institute Shanghai |
| City | Shanghai, China |
| Main Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Batebolati Bahatebole | def. | Ki Won-bin | Disqualification (punches to back of head) | 2 | 2:22 | |
| Bantamweight | Lee Chang-ho | def. | Rudra Pratap Singh | TKO (elbows and punches) | 1 | 3:52 | |
| Lightweight | Shin Haraguchi | def. | Wendris Patilima | TKO (punches) | 2 | 1:25 | |
| Bantamweight | Daermisi Zhawupasi | def. | Eperaim Ginting | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 0:58 | |
| Flyweight | Peter Danasoe | def. | Sim Kai Xiong | KO (flying knee) | 1 | 4:23 | |
- Lightweight quarterfinals
- Bantamweight quarterfinals
- Lightweight quarterfinals
- Bantamweight quarterfinals
Episode 5
| Road to UFC: Episode 5 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Road to UFC |
| Date | August 27, 2023 |
| Venue | Singapore Indoor Stadium |
| City | Kallang, Singapore |
| Main Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Li Kai Wen | def. | Koya Kanda | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Ji Niushiyue | def. | Choi Seung-guk | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Yi Zha | def. | Kim Sang-won | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Rei Tsuruya | def. | Mark Climaco | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Nyamjargal Tumendemberel | def. | Peter Danasoe | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 1:02 | |
Episode 6
| Road to UFC: Episode 6 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Road to UFC |
| Date | August 27, 2023 |
| Venue | Singapore Indoor Stadium |
| City | Kallang, Singapore |
| Main Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Shin Haraguchi | def. | Park Jae-hyun | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Lee Chang-ho | def. | Daermisi Zhawupasi | TKO (punches) | 3 | 3:35 | |
| Featherweight | Rong Zhu | def. | Kim Sang-wook | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Xiao Long | def. | Shuya Kamikubo | Decision (majority) (29–28, 29–27, 28–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Episode 7
| Road to UFC: Episode 7 | |
|---|---|
| Promotion | Road to UFC |
| Date | February 3, 2024 |
| Venue | UFC Apex |
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
The bantamweight final between Xiao Long and Lee Chang-ho was scheduled for this episode. However. Xiao was forced out of the bout due to visa issues and an undisclosed injury. The bout eventually took place at UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov.
| Main Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Rong Zhu | def. | Shin Haraguchi | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 3:06 | |
| Featherweight | Yi Zha | def. | Li Kai Wen | Submission (armbar) | 1 | 3:03 | |
| Flyweight | Rei Tsuruya | def. | Ji Niushiyue | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:59 | |
- Lightweight Finals
- Featherweight Finals. Li missed weight (149.5 lb).
- Flyweight Finals
Flyweight tournament bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
 Rei Tsuruya | SUB | |||||||||
 Ronal Siahaan | 2 | |||||||||
| Rei Tsuruya | UD | |||||||||
 Mark Climaco | 3 | |||||||||
| Mark Climaco | UD | |||||||||
 Lee Jung-hyun | 3 | |||||||||
| Rei Tsuruya | TKO | |||||||||
 Ji Niushiyue | 1 | |||||||||
| Ji Niushiyue | TKO | |||||||||
| Billy Pasulatan | 1 | |||||||||
| Ji Niushiyue | UD | |||||||||
| Choi Seung-guk | 3 | |||||||||
 Sumit Kumar | 3 | |||||||||
| Choi Seung-guk | UD | |||||||||
Bantamweight tournament bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| Xiao Long | SD | |||||||||
| Shohei Nose | 3 | |||||||||
| Xiao Long | MD | |||||||||
| Shuya Kamikubo | 3 | |||||||||
| Shuya Kamikubo | SD | |||||||||
| Jieleyisi Baergeng | 3 | |||||||||
| Xiao Long | 3 | |||||||||
| Lee Chang-ho | SD | |||||||||
| Eperaim Ginting | 1 | |||||||||
| Daermisi Zhawupasi | SUB | |||||||||
| Daermisi Zhawupasi | 3 | |||||||||
| Lee Chang-ho | TKO | |||||||||
| Lee Chang-ho | TKO | |||||||||
| Rudra Pratap Singh | 1 | |||||||||
Featherweight tournament bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| Yi Zha | SUB | |||||||||
| Wuziazibieke Jiahefu | 1 | |||||||||
| Yi Zha | UD | |||||||||
| Kim Sang-won | 3 | |||||||||
| Keisuke Sasu | 2 | |||||||||
| Kim Sang-won | KO | |||||||||
| Yi Zha | SUB | |||||||||
| Li Kai Wen | 1 | |||||||||
| Yibugele | 3 | |||||||||
| Kouya Kanda | UD | |||||||||
| Kouya Kanda | 3 | |||||||||
| Li Kai Wen | UD | |||||||||
| Li Kai Wen | KO | |||||||||
| Lu Kai | 1 | |||||||||
Lightweight tournament bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| Hong Seong-chan | 1 | |||||||||
| Rong Zhu | TKO | |||||||||
| Rong Zhu | UD | |||||||||
| Kim Sang-wook | 3 | |||||||||
| Kazuma Maruyama | 1 | |||||||||
| Kim Sang-wook | SUB | |||||||||
| Rong Zhu | SUB | |||||||||
| Shin Haraguchi | 3 | |||||||||
| Wendris Patilima | 2 | |||||||||
| Shin Haraguchi | TKO | |||||||||
| Shin Haraguchi | UD | |||||||||
| Park Jae-hyun* | 3 | |||||||||
| Ki Won-bin | 2 | |||||||||
| Batebolati Bahatebole | DQ | |||||||||
- Park Jae-hyun, who was scheduled to fight Quillan Salkilld in a non-tournament bout, replaced Batebolati Bahatebole who weighed in at 161lbs and was not medically cleared to fight.
External links
See also
| Ultimate Fighting Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| By year |  | |
| General info | ||
| Executives |
| |
| Lists | ||
References
- Tabuena, Anton (2022-05-23). "Road to UFC: Four Asian tournament brackets, non-tournament bouts finalized". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
- See single-elimination tournament.
- Pettry, Jay (22 April 2022). "UFC Launching 'Road to UFC' Tourney in Singapore, Featuring 4 Brackets in June". Sherdog. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
- "ROAD TO UFC Opening Round Bouts Announced | Taiwan News | 2022-05-23 10:00:00". Taiwan News. 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
- "Road To UFC Season 2 Participants Announced | UFC". www.ufc.com. 2023-04-10. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
- "Featherweight Legends Headline UFC Return to Singapore for an Asia Prime Time Showdown". ufc.com. 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- Johnstone-Thomas, Maddyn (2024-01-30). "Road to UFC Season 2 Preview". ufc.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
- Presnell, Chris (2024-04-17). "Xiao Long vs. Lee Chang Ho in the works for UFC Riyadh". mmaecosystem.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.