UFC Returns to China for December Event & Schedules Barnburner Fight
The UFC is making its return to China with an event scheduled for December 9. The event was first reported by 'Ag Fight' on September 15, and one fight has already been booked.
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'Road to UFC' alumni Mingyang "Mountain Tiger" Zhang will take on UFC debutant Brendson "The Gorilla" Ribiero in what is sure to be an explosive bout. Zhang boasts an impressive 100% finish rate and has never left the first round in all 16 of his professional victories.
Ribiero hails from 'Dana White's Contender Series' and also maintains a clean 100% finish rate. Both fighters make their official UFC debuts and are sure to put on a show.
This will be the promotion's first return to China since Jessica Andrade vs. Weili Zhang back in 2019. It will be the seventh time the UFC has appeared in China, and it couldn't have come at a better time with the company's first Chinese champion Weili Zhang at the helm of the women's strawweight division.
One possibility is that Zhang will defend her title against fellow countrywoman Yan Xionan, who most recently knocked out Andrade in May. A double Chinese headliner would be huge for the UFC's return to the divine state.
The UFC has been making an effort to fill out its many divisions with Chinese talent with the introduction of 'Road to UFC', a tournament style series in which Asian MMA prospects battle for UFC contracts.
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If the UFC can retread old ground and break into the Chinese market --- hopefully with Zhang headlining the card --- then the promotion could see a surge of top Asian MMA prospects entering the UFC.
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