The UFC is returning to Shanghai for the first time in nearly eight years.
On Thursday, women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili announced the news that mainland China would host a UFC card for the first time since 2017.
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A UFC Fight Night event will take place on August 23 at Shanghai Indoor Stadium, though no fights have been announced for the card.
Weili was alongside fellow Chinese fighters Song Yadong and Zhang Mingyang when she made the big reveal.
“So many Chinese athletes are joining the UFC now,” she said, speaking on the promotion’s future in her native country.
She added: “I’m confident the sport will continue to grow here,” before saying she was ‘really looking forward’ to the Fight Night card in Shanghai.
“When you step into the arena with a roaring home crowd behind you, it gives you an incredible boost of energy,” Weili concluded.
“So when I won the championship in Shenzhen, the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying.”
Weili won UFC gold for the first time by submitting Jessica Andrade in August 2019 in Shenzhen, China.
UFC Senior Vice President and Head of Asia Kevin Chang couldn’t contain his excitement when speaking about the promotion’s imminent return.
“Shanghai holds special significance for UFC, as it hosted our first event in mainland China in 2017, and it’s the home of our UFC Performance Institute and headquarters in Asia,” he said.
“Our Chinese athletes are making a statement in UFC that they are a force to be reckoned with, and we are excited to showcase their talent in the city where it all began.”
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It is the first time the promotion has visited Shanghai since its debut event in China’s global financial hub.
That was back in November 2017 when Michael Bisping suffered a brutal knockout defeat to Kevin Gastelum in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card.
Bisping had just lost the UFC middleweight strap to Georges St-Pierre less than three weeks before he found himself in the Octagon with Gastelum.
He was knocked out after two minutes and 30 seconds into his fight with Gastelum, and announced his retirement at the age of 39 six months later.
Bisping was the first British fighter to compete in a UFC main event and won the middleweight title in Dana White’s promotion three years after becoming legally blind in his right eye.
UFC last visited China in November for UFC Macau, where former bantamweight champion Petr Yan defeated Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event.
The card also witnessed Shi Ming create history as she became the first-ever Road to UFC winner brutally knocking out her countrywoman Xiacan Feng.
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Road to UFC is an event series in which top Asian MMA prospects compete to win contracts in White‘s promotion.
One day before the UFC returns to Shanghai, the same venue will host Season 4: Road to UFC semifinals.
Orange Lion Sports will serve as the official promoter for the card.
Mu Yang, Orange Lion Sports Chairman and CEO said: “This year marks the tenth anniversary of Orange Lion Sports.
“Over the past decade, we’ve had our roots in Shanghai while facing the world.
“We have always maintained close communication and exchanges with top international events and organisations such as UFC, and we have deepened our presence in the sports industry with an attitude that combines a global perspective with people’s livelihood.
“The city of Shanghai, as the headquarters of Orange Lion Sports, has given us great help and support.
“This collaboration with UFC is the starting point of a new decade. In the future, we will also bring more influential events to our doorstep through more international cooperation.”
