Chinese fighter faces off against 'ranked No. 3' Russian powerhouse... UFC Shanghai main event confirmed

*This content was translated by AI.

UFC has officially confirmed the main event for its upcoming Shanghai show.

On the 8th, UFC announced via press release that it will host 'UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song Yadong' on August 29 at the Pudong Development Bank Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. This event marks the second consecutive year UFC is held in Shanghai and is the first time since a sellout in 2017 that the tournament takes place in Pudong District.

The main event, which will cap off the night, features ranked No. 3 bantamweight and former title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov (30, Russia) facing off against Song Yadong (28, China), ranked No. 5. Nurmagomedov was originally scheduled to face David Martinez at an Abu Dhabi event on July 25, but with Martinez's appearance postponed, the bout became a title eliminator against Song Yadong.

Nurmagomedov, who holds a professional record of 20 wins and 1 loss, is on a two-fight winning streak after defeating Deiveson Figueiredo, Cory Sandhagen, and Mario Bautista.

Opposing him, Song Yadong boasts a record of 23 wins, 1 draw, and 9 losses. After delivering an impressive submission victory over Figueiredo at the Macau event earlier this year, he steps onto his sixth main event stage. Having previously defeated Henry Cejudo and Marlon Moraes among others, Song aims to secure a title shot with a home win in Shanghai.

The co-main event will see China's first female UFC fighter and ranked No. 4 strawweight Yan Xiaonan (China) face off against No. 13 Denice Zamboanga Gomez (Brazil). Yan, who fought a historic title bout against Zhang Weili at UFC 300, will appear before Chinese home fans for the first time since 2018. Her opponent, Gomez, is a Muay Thai veteran currently on a four-fight winning streak and has entered the top 15 rankings.

Other scheduled bouts include the UFC debut of Australian light heavyweight Junior Tapa against Chinese kickboxing world champion Liu Che; a rematch between No. 11 ranked flyweight Alex Perez (USA) and Sumudali (China); and a flyweight clash between Japan's Ray Tsuyoshi and Peru's Kevin Borjas.

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*This content was translated by AI.