Preview: Spotlight on contenders and prospects as UFC makes long-awaited China return

MACAO, China, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to China for the first time in five years, featuring bantamweight contenders Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo aiming to position themselves for a shot at UFC gold, while China's Yan Xiaonan looks to bounce back with a win against Brazil's Tabatha Ricci.

Further down the card, Chinese veteran Song Kenan aims to secure consecutive wins for the first time since 2020 as he takes on 40-year-old Muslim Salikhov. Meanwhile, undefeated Sanda kickboxer Wang Cong hopes to build on her first-round knockout in her UFC debut.

The main card begins with two light heavyweight matchups. Chinese prospect Zhang Mingyang will face the dangerous Ozzy Diaz, followed by a likely kickboxing-heavy clash between Carlos Ulberg and Volkan Oezdemir.

Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan, who ended a three-fight losing streak with a victory over Chinese contender Song Yadong in March, hopes that a win against former flyweight champion Figueiredo will move him closer to reclaiming the belt. Despite moving to Thailand to sharpen his Muay Thai skills, Yan used his underrated ground game to secure his win against Song. However, Figueiredo presents a different challenge for Yan.

After years of tough weight cuts to make the 57kg flyweight limit, Brazil's Figueiredo has settled at the healthier 61kg bantamweight division, where he is currently 3-0 since debuting nearly a year ago. Like Yan, Figueiredo presents a threat both on the feet and on the ground, possessing a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. Despite entering the five-round main event in better form, Yan will represent Figueiredo's first significant test against an elite-level bantamweight.

In the co-main event, second-ranked strawweight Yan Xiaonan will face the division's 10th-ranked Tabatha Ricci. After losing a unanimous decision to strawweight champion Zhang Weili at UFC 300 in April, Yan aims for a win that could help her regain her position as a title contender. Although a win is unlikely to secure an immediate rematch against compatriot Zhang, it could set her up for a number-one contender bout against another top-ranked strawweight. With a significant height and reach advantage over Ricci, the high-output Sanda fighter Yan hopes that her physical attributes and pace will give her the upper hand.

Despite being seen as the underdog, Ricci knows that a win over Yan could put her in contention for the strawweight title. A split decision loss to Loopy Godinez last year is her only blemish in the strawweight division. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt sees Yan's loss to Zhang, which exposed flaws in Yan's ground game, as a potential path to victory.

At 40 and 34, both Salikhov and Song are in the later stages of their careers. Salikhov, an expert in the Chinese martial art of Sanda, comes into the fight with just two wins in his last five bouts. Similarly, Song has two wins in his last five. While both fighters may feel it's too late to climb the welterweight rankings, their matchup promises an entertaining striking duel between two seasoned veterans, and an opportunity to win a lucrative fight of the night bonus.

The two light heavyweight clashes also promise predominantly stand-up battles. New Zealand's Ulberg and Switzerland's Oezdemir are both elite kickboxers looking to push into the upper ranks of the division. Meanwhile, Chinese prospect Zhang Mingyang will face the powerful Ozzy Diaz as he seeks to stake a claim for a top-15 ranking. Diaz has never seen a fight go to the judges' scorecards, while Zhang, who has rebounded from a rocky start to his early MMA career, comes into the fight undefeated in five years following a dominant first-round KO over Brendson Ribeiro in February.

The third fight on the main card will see the 6-0 Wang Cong take on outsider Gabriella Fernandes. Wang made an impressive first impression in the UFC with a 62-second knockout of Victoria Leonardo. A similar performance could rapidly accelerate her rise through the division. ■