Road to UFC Season 5

Road to UFC Season 5
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
First date airedMay 28, 2026 (2026-05-28)

Road to UFC Season 5 is the 2026 cycle of Road to UFC, a mixed martial arts (MMA) event series in which top Asian MMA prospects compete to win contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).[1]

Background

The event series featured four divisions—women's strawweight, flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight—each for which eight fighters compete in a "win-and-advance" tournament format.[2] The tournament winner of each division is awarded a UFC contract. Each event within the series contains five bouts, one of which is a non-tournament match-up.[1]

The quarterfinal stage of the tournament took place over two days on May 28-29, 2026, at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China, with total of 10 bouts events per day.[1]

The Road to UFC Season 4 flyweight final between Namsrai Batbayar and Yin Shuai took place on May 29, 2026.[3] Yin Shuai, who originally lost to Aaron Tau in the semifinals, was added to the final after Tau missed weight for the February 2026 event tied to UFC 325.[4] Tau's weight miss resulted in his removal from the bout and his subsequent release, allowing Yin to step in as the replacement finalist.[5]

Two UFC bouts took place as well: a lightweight bout between Rong Zhu and Victor Martinez, and a women's strawweight bout between Road to UFC Season 3 women's strawweight winner Shi Ming and Puja Tomar.[3]

Road to UFC: Opening Round – Day 1

Road to UFC: Opening Round – Day 1
PromotionRoad to UFC
DateMay 28, 2026
VenueGalaxy Arena
CityMacau SAR, China

Background

A bantamweight bout between Rabindra Dhant and Matty Iann was scheduled for the event.[1] However, Iann withdrew due to a knee injury and was replaced by Kimbert Alintozon.[6]

A bantamweight bout between Ryuho Miyaguchi and Shin You-min was scheduled for the event.[1] However, You-min withdrew due to a knee injury and was replaced by Chungreng Koren.[7]

At the weigh-ins, Victor Martinez weighed in at 158 pounds, two pounds over the weight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and it is unclear what percent of his purse went to his opponent Road to UFC Season 2 lightweight tournament winner Rong Zhu.[8]

Results

Fight card (UFC Fight Pass)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Catchweight (158 lb) Rong Zhu def. Victor Martinez TKO (punches) 1 1:10 [a]
Featherweight Xie Bin def. Yudi Cahyadi TKO (punches) 1 2:05
Featherweight George Mangos def. Yuito Yanagawa KO (knee to the body) 1 3:19 [b]
Featherweight Ahejiang Ailinuer def. Lim Gwan-woo Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00 [c]
Bantamweight Kasib Murdoch def. Yunosuke Minami Submission (arm-triangle choke) 3 3:46 [d]
Featherweight Dagiisuren Chagnaadorj def. Regezhen Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) 3 5:00 [e]
Bantamweight Rabindra Dhant def. Kimbert Alintozon TKO (punches) 2 4:37 [f]
Bantamweight Ryo Tajima def. Ti Haitao Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) 3 5:00 [g]
Featherweight Song Young-jae def. Jin Aoi Submission (rear-naked choke) 2 3:39 [h]
Bantamweight Chungreng Koren def. Ryuho Miyaguchi Submission (rear-naked choke) 2 4:00 [i]

Road to UFC: Opening Round – Day 2

Road to UFC: Opening Round – Day 2
PromotionRoad to UFC
DateMay 29, 2026
VenueGalaxy Arena
CityMacau SAR, China

Results

Fight card (UFC Fight Pass)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Women's Strawweight Shi Ming def. Puja Tomar Submission (arm-triangle choke) 1 3:12
Flyweight Namsrai Batbayar def. Yin Shuai TKO (knee and punches) 1 1:48 [a]
Flyweight Ji Niushiyue def. Kaito Oda Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00 [b]
Women's Strawweight Farida Abdueva def. Feng Xiaocan TKO (punch) 1 2:02 [c]
Flyweight Joseph Larcinese def. Ryoga Arimoto Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) 3 5:00 [d]
Women's Strawweight Meng Bo def. Arisa Matsuda Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00 [e]
Flyweight Takaya Suzuki def. Otgonbaatar Boldbaatar TKO (punches) 1 4:36 [f]
Women's Strawweight Park Bo-hyun def. Dong Huaxiang Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00 [g]
Flyweight Takeru Uchida def. Eros Baluyot Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 1:18 [h]
Women's Strawweight Machi Fukuda def. Anelya Toktogonova TKO (punches) 2 1:53 [i]

Road to UFC: Semifinals

Road to UFC: Semifinals
PromotionRoad to UFC
DateAugust 28, 2026
VenueShanghai Indoor Stadium
CityShanghai, China

Fight card

Fight card (UFC Fight Pass)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Lightweight Maheshate Hayisaer vs. Darrius Flowers
Middleweight Yilizhati Maimaitijiang vs. Tre'ston Vines
Featherweight George Mangos vs. Ahejiang Ailinuer
Featherweight Dagiisuren Chagnaadorj vs. Song Young-jae
Bantamweight Kasib Murdoch vs. Rabindra Dhant
Bantamweight Ryo Tajima vs. Chungreng Koren
Flyweight Ji Niushiyue vs. Takeru Uchida
Flyweight Takaya Suzuki vs. Joseph Larcinese
Women's Strawweight Park Bo-hyun vs. Farida Abdueva
Women's Strawweight Meng Bo vs. Machi Fukuda

Tournament brackets

Featherweight

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
 
 Australia George Mangos KO
 
 
 
 Japan Yuito Yanagawa 1
 
 Australia George Mangos
 
 
 
 China Ahejiang Ailinuer
 
 China Ahejiang Ailinuer UD
 
 
 
 South Korea Lim Gwan-woo 3
 
 
 
 
 
 China Regezhen 3
 
 
 
 Mongolia Dagiisuren Chagnaadorj SD
 
 Mongolia Dagiisuren Chagnaadorj
 
 
 
 South Korea Song Young-jae
 
 Japan Jin Aoi 2
 
 
 South Korea Song Young-jae SUB
 

Bantamweight

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
 
 Japan Yunosuke Minami 3
 
 
 
 New Zealand Kasib Murdoch SUB
 
 New Zealand Kasib Murdoch
 
 
 
 Nepal Rabindra Dhant
 
 Nepal Rabindra Dhant TKO
 
 
 
 Philippines Kimbert Alintozon[a] 2
 
 
 
 
 
 China Ti Haitao 3
 
 
 
 Japan Ryo Tajima SD
 
 Japan Ryo Tajima
 
 
 
 India Chungreng Koren
 
 Japan Ryuho Miyaguchi 2
 
 
 India Chungreng Koren[b] SUB
 
  1. ↑ Rabindra's opponent, Matty Iann, was replaced by Kimbert Alintozon due to a knee injury.[6]
  2. ↑ Miyaguchi's opponent, Shin You-min, was replaced by Chungreng Koren due to a knee injury.[7]

Flyweight

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
 
 China Ji Niushiyue UD
 
 
 
 Japan Kaito Oda 3
 
 China Ji Niushiyue
 
 
 
 Japan Takeru Uchida
 
 Philippines Eros Baluyot 1
 
 
 
 Japan Takeru Uchida SUB
 
 
 
 
 
 Japan Takaya Suzuki TKO
 
 
 
 Mongolia Otgonbaatar Boldbaatar 1
 
 Japan Takaya Suzuki
 
 
 
 Australia Joseph Larcinese
 
 Japan Ryoga Arimoto 3
 
 
 Australia Joseph Larcinese SD
 

Women's Strawweight

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
 
 China Dong Huaxiang 3
 
 
 
 South Korea Park Bo-hyun SD
 
 South Korea Park Bo-hyun
 
 
 
 Kyrgyzstan Farida Abdueva
 
 Kyrgyzstan Farida Abdueva TKO[a]
 
 
 
 China Feng Xiaocan 1
 
 
 
 
 
 China Meng Bo UD
 
 
 
 Japan Arisa Matsuda 3
 
 China Meng Bo
 
 
 
 Japan Machi Fukuda
 
 Japan Machi Fukuda TKO
 
 
 Kyrgyzstan Anelya Toktogonova 2
 
  1. ↑ Originally ruled a no contest due to eye poke, however upon review the punch that paused the action was legal and the bout has been ruled a TKO.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Timothy Wheaton (2026-03-31). "Meng Bo, Machi Fukuda featured in stacked Road to UFC Season 5 brackets". lowkickmma.com. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  2. ↑ See single-elimination tournament.
  3. 1 2 Timothy Wheaton (2026-03-31). "Road to UFC queen Shi Ming draws Puja Tomar for strawweight showcase in Macau". lowkickmma.com. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  4. ↑ Matthew Wells (2026-01-30). "UFC 325 weigh-in results: Title fight set; one fight canceled". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-01-30.
  5. ↑ Mike Heck (2026-02-05). "UFC cuts ties with Aaron Tau after UFC 325 weigh-in fiasco". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  6. 1 2 Glamour Nepal (2026-04-11). "Opponent change! Rabindra Dhant now faces Kimbert Alintozon after Matty Iann withdrawal". glamournepal.com. Retrieved 2026-04-16.
  7. 1 2 @LockerRoom (May 12, 2026). "Indian MMA fighter and former MFN Champion Chungren Koren has entered the Road to UFC Season 5 bracket after changes to the bracket" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  8. ↑ Kyle Dimond (2026-05-27). "UFC main eventer misses weight for Macau matchup scheduled to take place during fight week". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
  9. ↑ Sherdog (2026-03-31). "UFC Road to UFC Season 5: Macau Quarterfinals 1". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  10. ↑ Tapology (2026-03-31). "Road to UFC: Macau Day 1". tapology.com. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  11. ↑ Sherdog (2026-03-31). "UFC Road to UFC Season 5: Macau Quarterfinals 2". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  12. ↑ Tapology (2026-03-31). "Road to UFC: Macau Day 2". tapology.com. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  13. ↑ Sherdog.com. "Road to UFC Season 5: Shanghai Semifinals". Sherdog. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
  14. ↑ "Road to UFC: Shanghai | Tapology". Tapology. Retrieved 2026-07-14.
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