UFC Returns To China For Stacked December Fight Night

The world's leading MMA promotion is finally headed back to China.

Drew Beaupré | Oct 31, 2023

UFC Returns To China For Stacked December Fight Night /

The UFC will finally return to China this year for its first event in the country since 2019.

This year has seen the UFC finally return to a more consistent travel schedule after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the promotion to largely hold events at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas and a few other select locations.

With a long-awaited return to Brazil set for this weekend in São Paulo, the promotion has officially announced that it will head back to China for a Fight Night event on December 9 that will take place at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium.

China, we're officially on the way! 🇨🇳

See you at #UFCShanghai on December 9th! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/8iHufsrtEi
— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2023

Rumors of the UFC returning to China before the end of the year have popped up over the last few months, but this announcement is the first concrete confirmation that the promotion will hold an event there for the first time in more than four years.

The UFC Fight Night event that took place in Shenzhen in August of 2019 saw China's Weili Zhang claim the strawweight title from Jéssica Andrade when “Magnum” stopped the Brazilian with strikes in just 42 seconds.

UFC Shanghai — The UFC's last trip to China was in 2019 :: (David G. McIntyre/USA TODAY Sports)

Zhang reclaimed the strawweight belt by submitting Carla Esparza last year before she defended her title with a dominant performance against Amanda Lemos in August. Her current title reign and the recent success of other Chinese fighters like Yan Xiaonan and Song Yadong makes a return to the country an exciting prospect for the UFC.

A handful of fights had already been booked for the UFC Fight Night event on December 9 prior to the news that it would take place in Shanghai. A number of Chinese fighters are currently set to feature on the card, but so far there’s been no confirmation on what matchup will serve as the event’s headlining bout.

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Published Oct 31, 2023