Road To UFC Season 3: Four Indian MMA Athletes To Compete As Asia's Tournament Returns Next Month

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UFC on Tuesday (April 23) announced the third season of ROAD TO UFC, the most significant opportunity for Asia's top MMA prospects to make it to the world stage, will start next month.

Following the successful format of Season 2, the opening round is set to take place across two days, May 18 and 19, in Shanghai, China at the UFC Performance Institute (UFC PI).

What is Road To UFC?

ROAD TO UFC is a ground-breaking "win and advance" tournament that will take top MMA prospects from Asia and give them a pathway to a UFC contract.

The format features 32 mixed martial arts athletes competing in each of four weight classes. Additionally, four non-tournament bouts will be included to provide more opportunities.

How many fighters from Asia have landed a contract via Road To UFC?

To date, eleven ROAD TO UFC participants have been awarded UFC contracts: seven final winners from Seasons 1 and 2; two finalists from Season 1; and two non-tournament bout winners.

• China: Rongzhu, Yizha, Zhang Mingyang
• India: Anshul Jubli
• Indonesia: Jeka Saragih
• Japan: Rinya Nakamura, Toshiomi Kazama, Rei Tsuruya
• South Korea: Jeong Yeong Lee, Hyun Sung Park
• Mongolia: Nyamjargal Tumendemberel

The UFC PI Shanghai opened in 2019, and at 93,000 square feet - nearly three times as large as the original UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas - it is the world's largest, state-of-the-art MMA training and development facility.

The ROAD TO UFC Season 3 opening round will be broadcast live in Asia prime time from the UFC PI Shanghai, which was purpose-built for live remote production (REMI) via connection to its sister facility, UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

What weight division athletes will compete in Road to UFC Season 3?

ROAD TO UFC Season 3 will feature men's flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight divisions, and for the first time, the women's strawweight division.

To provide additional opportunities for top MMA prospects in Asia, there will also be four non-tournament bouts. There are four athletes representing India this year, two men and two women.

India's Kiru Singh Sahota and Angad Bisht will fight in the men's flyweight opener, while Priya Sharma and Kiran Singh will contest in the women's strawweight openers against different oppponents. The participants and bouts include:

Road TO UFC 3 - Flyweight (>56.7kg) Opening Round

• Jiniushiyue (China) vs Dong Hoon Choi (South Korea)
• John Almanza (Philippines) vs Angad Bisht (India)
• Toki Matsui (Japan) vs Ruel Panales (Philippines)
• Kiru Singh Sahota (India) vs Yin Shuai (China)

Road TO UFC 3 - Bantamweight (>61.2kg) Opening Round

• Soo Young Yoo (South Korea) vs Shohei Nose (Japan)
• Daermisi Zhawupasi (China) vs Ren Ozaki (Japan)
• Kyu Sung Kim (South Korea) vs Tokitaka Nakanishi (Japan)
• Jieleiyisi Baergeng (China) vs TBD

Road TO UFC 3 - Featherweight (>65.8kg) Opening Round

• Shin Haraguchi (Japan) vs Jun Young Hong (South Korea)
• Zhu Kangjie (China) vs Tatsuya Ando (Japan)
• Masuto Kawana (Japan) vs Young Jae Song (South Korea)
• Xie Bin (China) vs Hamid Amiri (Afghanistan)

Road TO UFC 3 - Women's Strawweight (>52.2kg) Opening Round

• Huang Feier (China) vs Miki Motono (Japan)
• Feng Xiaocan (China) vs Kiran Singh (India)
• Priya Sharma (India) vs Dong Huaxiang (China)
• Shi Ming (China) vs Ye Dam Seo (South Korea)

Road to UFC 3 - Non-tournament bouts Opening Round

• Women's flyweight: Wang Cong (China) vs Paula Luna (Peru)
• Women's flyweight: Yan Qihui (China) vs Lisa Kyriacou (Australia)
• Lightweight: Won Bin Ki (South Korea) vs Tatsuya Saika (Japan)
• Welterweight: Bahatebole Batebolati (China) vs Han Seul Kim (South Korea)

Each round of ROAD TO UFC Season 3 will take place in front of a live audience, with location and venue details announced in advance of each event. The finals will be featured bouts on a UFC Fight Night, at which time UFC contracts will be awarded to each of the four divisions' winners.

When and how to follow Road to UFC season 3 opening round action?

Each episode of ROAD TO UFC will air in Asia primetime GMT +8, so audiences across Asia can get to know the athletes via in-event features and competitions.

In India and the subcontinent, ROAD TO UFC will be telecast by UFC's official broadcast partner Sony Sports Network on Sony Sports Network channels and available to stream on SonyLIV.