Road to UFC

{{short description|American reality series and MMA competition}}

Road to UFC is a recurring mixed martial arts (MMA) event series in which top Asian MMA prospects compete to win contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Overview

Structured into "seasons" and "episodes," it features a number of fighter weight divisions—each for which fighters compete in a "win-and-advance" tournament format.See single-elimination tournament. Each event in the series, or "episode," features one bout for each division tournament, and one non-tournament bout.{{Cite web |last=Pettry |first=Jay |date=22 April 2022 |title=UFC Launching 'Road to UFC' Tourney in Singapore, Featuring 4 Brackets in June |url=https://www.sherdog.com/news/news/UFC-Launching-Road-to-UFC-Tourney-in-Singapore-Featuring-4-Brackets-in-June-186180 |website=Sherdog |access-date=2022-05-03 }}{{Cite web |date=2022-05-23 |title=ROAD TO UFC Opening Round Bouts Announced {{!}} Taiwan News {{!}} 2022-05-23 10:00:00 |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4547299 |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=Taiwan News}}{{Cite web |last=Tabuena |first=Anton |date=2022-05-23 |title=Road to UFC: Four Asian tournament brackets, non-tournament bouts finalized |url=https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2022/5/23/23137552/road-to-ufc-four-asian-tournament-brackets-non-tournament-bouts-finalized |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=Bloody Elbow |language=en}} The opening quarterfinal round is typically held hosting four events over a two-day span, with two episodes for each day. The semifinal round is held a few months later. Each season culminates with the tournament finals, which take place during preliminary card of a UFC Fight Night event. The tournament winner for each division is awarded a UFC contract.

The "Road to UFC" branding was previously used in 2015 for Road to UFC: Japan, a similar Japan-based tournament awarding a UFC contract, but formatted as a reality competition, and marketed as an Asian-centric analog to The Ultimate Fighter. Despite the reuse of the "Road to UFC" brand, similar Asian MMA focus, and season/episode nomenclature, the UFC has not characterized the newer event series as inclusive of the earlier 2015 reality competition, and has described the 2022 tournament cycle as the "inaugural tournament," referring to it as "Season 1".{{Cite web |date=2023-02-27 |title=Road To UFC Returns For Season 2 With Opening Round On May 27 & 28 {{!}} UFC |url=https://www.ufc.com/news/road-ufc-returns-season-2-opening-round-may-27-28 |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=www.ufc.com |language=en}}

Seasons

class="sortable wikitable succession-box" style="width:90%; margin:1.0em auto; font-size:90%;"
scope="col" \| Name ! scope="col" \| Start Date ! scope="col" \| End Date ! scope="col" \| Venue ! scope="col" \| Location ! scope="col" \| Ref.
rowspan="2"\|Season 3 \| rowspan="2"\|{{dts\|2024\|May\|18}} \| rowspan="2"\| \| UFC Performance Institute Shanghai \| Shanghai, China \| rowspan="2"\|{{cite web \|last1=Anderson \|first1=Jay \|title=Road to UFC Season 3 Tournament Announced, Women's Strawweight Added \|url=https://cagesidepress.com/2024/04/23/road-to-ufc-season-3-tournament-announced-womens-strawweight-added/ \|website=Cageside Press \|access-date=28 April 2024 \|date=23 April 2024}}
UFC Apex \|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
rowspan="4"\|Season 2 \| rowspan="4"\|{{dts\|2023\|May\|27}} \| rowspan="4"\|{{dts\|2024\|June\|22}} \|UFC Performance Institute Shanghai \|Shanghai, China \| rowspan="4"\|{{Cite web \|date=2023-05-28 \|title=Road To UFC Season 2 Kicked Off With Intense Quarterfinals \|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/road-ufc-season-2-semifinalists-revealed-following-action-packed-opening-round-3696172 \|access-date=2023-07-16 \|website=International Business Times \|language=en-US}}
Singapore Indoor Stadium \|Kallang, Singapore
UFC Apex \|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Kingdom Arena \|Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
rowspan="3"\|Season 1 \| rowspan="3"\|{{dts\|2022\|June\|08}} \| rowspan="3"\|{{dts\|2023\|February\|04}} \|Singapore Indoor Stadium \|Kallang, Singapore \| rowspan="3"\|{{Cite web \|last=Cox \|first=Susan \|date=2022-04-22 \|title=The UFC officially announce the "Road to the UFC" Tournament in Singapore leading up to UFC 275 \|url=https://www.bjpenn.com/mma-news/ufc/the-ufc-officially-announce-the-road-to-the-ufc-tournament-in-singapore-leading-up-to-ufc-275/ \|access-date=2022-04-25 \|website={{!}} BJPenn.com \|language=en-US}}
Etihad Arena \|Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
UFC Apex \|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

class="sortable wikitable succession-box" style="width:90%; margin:1.0em auto; font-size:90%;"

scope="col" | Name

! scope="col" | Start Date

! scope="col" | End Date

! scope="col" | Venue

! scope="col" | Location

! scope="col" | Ref.

rowspan="2"|Season 3

| rowspan="2"|{{dts|2024|May|18}}

| rowspan="2"|

| UFC Performance Institute Shanghai

| Shanghai, China

| rowspan="2"|{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Jay |title=Road to UFC Season 3 Tournament Announced, Women's Strawweight Added |url=https://cagesidepress.com/2024/04/23/road-to-ufc-season-3-tournament-announced-womens-strawweight-added/ |website=Cageside Press |access-date=28 April 2024 |date=23 April 2024}}

UFC Apex

|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

rowspan="4"|Season 2

| rowspan="4"|{{dts|2023|May|27}}

| rowspan="4"|{{dts|2024|June|22}}

|UFC Performance Institute Shanghai

|Shanghai, China

| rowspan="4"|{{Cite web |date=2023-05-28 |title=Road To UFC Season 2 Kicked Off With Intense Quarterfinals |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/road-ufc-season-2-semifinalists-revealed-following-action-packed-opening-round-3696172 |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=International Business Times |language=en-US}}

Singapore Indoor Stadium

|Kallang, Singapore

UFC Apex

|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

Kingdom Arena

|Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

rowspan="3"|Season 1

| rowspan="3"|{{dts|2022|June|08}}

| rowspan="3"|{{dts|2023|February|04}}

|Singapore Indoor Stadium

|Kallang, Singapore

| rowspan="3"|{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Susan |date=2022-04-22 |title=The UFC officially announce the "Road to the UFC" Tournament in Singapore leading up to UFC 275 |url=https://www.bjpenn.com/mma-news/ufc/the-ufc-officially-announce-the-road-to-the-ufc-tournament-in-singapore-leading-up-to-ufc-275/ |access-date=2022-04-25 |website={{!}} BJPenn.com |language=en-US}}

Etihad Arena

|Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

UFC Apex

|Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

Tournament winners

class="wikitable" style="width:99%;"

!Name!!Finale!!Division!!Winner!!Runner-up

rowspan="4"|Road to UFC Season 1

|rowspan="4"|Feb 4, 2023

|Lightweight

|{{flagicon|IND}} Anshul Jubli

|{{flagicon|IDN}} Jeka Saragih

Featherweight

|{{flagicon|KOR}} Lee Jeong-yeong

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Yi Zha

Bantamweight

|{{flagicon|JPN}} Rinya Nakamura

|{{flagicon|JPN}} Toshiomi Kazama

Flyweight

|{{flagicon|KOR}} Park Hyun-sung

|{{flagicon|KOR}} Choi Seung-guk

rowspan="4"|Road to UFC Season 2

|rowspan="3"|Feb 3, 2024

|Lightweight

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Rong Zhu

|{{flagicon|JPN}} Shin Haraguchi

Featherweight

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Yi Zha

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Li Kaiwen

Flyweight

|{{flagicon|JPN}} Rei Tsuruya

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Ji Niushiyue

Jun 22, 2024

|Bantamweight

|{{flagicon|KOR}} Lee Chang-ho

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Xiao Long

rowspan="4"|Road to UFC Season 3

|rowspan="3"|Nov 23, 2024

|Bantamweight

|{{flagicon|KOR}} You Su-young

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Baergeng Jieleyisi

Flyweight

|{{flagicon|KOR}} Choi Dong-hun

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Kiru Singh Sahota

Women's Strawweight

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Shi Ming

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Feng Xiaocan

May 23, 2025

|Featherweight

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Kangjie Zhu

|{{flagicon|CHN}} Bin Xie

Road to UFC

Overview

Seasons

Tournament winners

References