Road To UFC Season 2 Participants List: Sumit Kumar and Rana Rudra Pratap Singh To Represent India

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UFC has announced the participants for ROAD TO UFC Season 2, the most significant opportunity for Asia's top MMA prospects to make it to the world stage with two fighters from India handed the chance to follow in the footsteps of Anshul Jubli.

Anshul became the first Indian fighter to land a UFC contract after winning the final in season 1 of RTU, which concluded with the final earlier this year.

Now, Sumit Kumar in the flyweight division, and Rana Rudra Pratap Singh in the bantamweight division will represent India in season 2, with the opening round set to take place across two days, May 27 and 28, in Shanghai, China at the UFC Performance Institute (UFC PI).

The ROAD TO UFC Season 2 opening round will be the first live, broadcast event to take place within the UFC PI Shanghai, the world's largest, state-of-the-art MMA training and development facility.

UFC opened the Performance Institute Shanghai in 2019, and at 93,000 square feet, it is nearly three times as large as the original UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, serving as headquarters in Asia and a hub to develop and support the next generation of MMA athletes from mainland China and the greater Asia-Pacific region.

The facility also serves as Official High Performance Advisor to the Chinese Olympic Committee and hosts UFC Academy, the region's leading MMA talent development program.

ROAD TO UFC is a ground-breaking "win and advance" tournament that gives top MMA prospects from Asia a pathway to a UFC contract. Eight mixed martial arts athletes will compete in each of four men's weight classes: flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight.

To provide additional opportunities for MMA prospects in Asia, there will also be four non-tournament bouts. Here is a look at the participants list and bouts in ROAD TO UFC Season 2:

Road To UFC Season 2 Participants and Bouts List

Flyweight (>56.7kg)

1. Rei Tsuruya (Japan) vs Ronal Siahaan (Indonesia)

2. Mark Climaco (Philippines) vs Jung Hyun Lee (South Korea)

3. Ji Niushiyue (China) vs Billy Pasulatan (Indonesia)

4. Sumit Kumar (India) vs Seung Guk Choi (South Korea)

Bantamweight (>61.2kg)

1. Xiao Long (China) vs Shohei Nose (Japan)

2. Shuya Kamikubo (Japan) vs Jieleyisi Baergeng (China)

3. Eperaim Ginting (Indonesia) vs Daermisi Zhawupasi (China)

4. Chang Ho Lee (South Korea) vs Rana Rudra Pratap Singh (India)

Featherweight (>65.8kg)

1. Yi Zha (China) vs Abdul Azeem Badakhshi (Afghanistan)

2. Keisuke Sasu (Japan) vs Sang Won Kim (Korea)

3. Yibugele (China) vs Koya Kanda (Japan)

4. Li Kaiwen (China) vs Reza Arianto (Indonesia)

Lightweight (>70.3kg)

1. Seong Chan Hong (South Korea) vs Rong Zhu (China)

2. Kazuma Maruyama (Japan) vs Sang Uk Kim (South Korea)

3. Windri Patilima (Indonesia) vs Shin Haraguchi (Japan)

4. Won Bin Ki (South Korea) vs Batebolati Bahatebole (China)

Non-tournament bouts

1. Flyweight: Top Noi Kiwram (Thailand) vs Nyamjargal Tumendemberel (Mongolia)

2. Flyweight: Sim Kai Xiong (Singapore) vs Peter Danasoe (Thailand)

3. Welterweight: Nueraji Taiyilake (China) vs Han Seul Kim (Korea)

4. Welterweight: Chris Hofmann (Philippines) vs Sang Hoon Yoo (Korea)

The opening round of ROAD TO UFC Season 2 on May 27 and 28 will air in Asia primetime (GMT +8) on UFC broadcast partners (check local listings). Additional information on the tournament will be announced at a later date.