The Road to UFC tournament is back for another year and aims to give top prospects a chance to impress the UFC brass in an attempt to earn a contract with the company. The show’s premiere takes place on May 22 and 23, and streams live on UFC Fight Pass from the UFC Performance Institute Shanghai in China.
- Ahejiang Ailinuer (15-3, Warriors Fighting Club, China)
- Jin Aoi (14-5-1, Shooto Gym, Japan)
- Kaiwen Li (14-6, Tianjin Top Team, China)
- Keiichiro Nakamura (5-1, EX-Fight, Japan)
- Eoh Jin Park (9-1-1, Team Yang Daejeon, South Korea)
- Dong Hyun Seo (7-2-1, Team Stun Gun, South Korea)
- Sebastian Szalay (8-1, Shenshinkan Martial Arts, Australia)
- Chang Min Yoon (7-2-1, HAVAS, South Korea)
The best bet in this tournament to take it all is South Korea’s Eoh Jin Park, a nasty finisher with heavy hands and a solid grappling game. That well-roundedness will definitely be useful, as he can match up against any man in this tournament. His biggest win was a brutal KO of UFC veteran Yui Chul Nam, which really put Park on the map in Asian MMA.
A guy to keep your eye on in this tournament, as he could be a low-key contender is Chang Min Yoon. He has fought nine times under the ONE Championship banner, which is impressive for a guy with ten pro fights. His biggest wins in ONE came over Kirill Gorobets and Keanu Subba. He also fought now-former ONE Champion Kai Tang, who defeated Yoon by knockout. The under-the-bright-lights experience will be huge here, as well as his strength of schedule.
These Road to UFC tournaments do not usually produce a lot of longshots from Japan, but in this featherweight bracket, Keiichiro Nakamura appears to be the guy with the highest mountain to climb. He’s a gifted striker with all wins coming by way of knockout, but he has fought .500 and sub-.500 fighters en route to his current 5-1 record. He could definitely surprise some people, especially given his stopping power, but he will have to prove it here.
Ahejiang Ailinuer is a Chinese fighter known for his high finishing rate, scoring six knockouts and eight submissions. Ailinuer went 2-0 in ONE Championship, which is quality experience which should aid him in this bracket. In 2019, he won a custom rules bout over now-UFC fighter Xiao Long, which is the biggest feather in Ailinuer’s cap to this point.
Jin Aoi is a Rizin veteran and Shooto Champion who has a solid chance at succeeding in this tournament. He likes to strike and get into wars, which will give the fans something fun to watch. His biggest win is over Japanese veteran Daisuke Nakamura, who he put down with a TKO.
Kaiwen Li is likely the most familiar name in the featherweight bracket, given he has fought in Road to UFC three times and ONE Championship twelve times. That quality experience will give him a leg up in this tournament, especially against some of the younger fighters. He scored two Road to UFC wins to date over Kouya Kanda by unanimous decision and Kai Lu by knockout. He lost to Zha Yi in the finals of Road to UFC.
Dong Hyun Seo is a disciple of UFC vet and Korean legend Dong Hyun Kim, meaning his under strong guidance in his fight camps. He is the Double G Champion in South Korea, using his knockout power to score finishes. His two losses do come to inexperienced no-names, though, which is a bit of concern for his longevity in this tournament.
Sebastian Szalay is the lone Australian in the featherweight tournament and an Eternal MMA Champion in his home country. He has fought some unheralded Australian talent, which shows he has the quality experience to make a good run in this tournament. He’s not finished many opponents, so he will need to be more impressive in that category to appease the UFC brass.