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. 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".
Seasons
Name Start Date End Date Venue Location Ref.Season 5 TBA Galaxy Arena Macau, China Season 4 UFC Performance Institute ShanghaiShanghai, ChinaShanghai Indoor StadiumQudos Bank ArenaSydney, AustraliaSeason 3 UFC Performance Institute Shanghai Shanghai, ChinaUFC ApexLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Season 2 UFC Performance Institute ShanghaiShanghai, ChinaSingapore Indoor StadiumKallang, Singapore UFC ApexLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Kingdom ArenaRiyadh, Saudi Arabia Season 1 Singapore Indoor StadiumKallang, SingaporeEtihad ArenaAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates UFC ApexLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Tournament winners
NameFinaleDivisionWinnerRunner-upRoad to UFC Season 1Feb 4, 2023Lightweight Anshul Jubli Jeka SaragihFeatherweight Lee Jeong-yeong Yi ZhaBantamweight Rinya Nakamura Toshiomi KazamaFlyweight Park Hyun-sung Choi Seung-gukRoad to UFC Season 2Feb 3, 2024Lightweight Rong Zhu Shin HaraguchiFeatherweight Yi Zha Li KaiwenFlyweight Rei Tsuruya Ji NiushiyueJun 22, 2024Bantamweight Lee Chang-ho Xiao LongRoad to UFC Season 3Nov 23, 2024Bantamweight You Su-young Baergeng JieleyisiFlyweight Choi Dong-hun Kiru Singh SahotaWomen's Strawweight Shi Ming Feng XiaocanMay 23, 2025Featherweight Zhu Kangjie Xie BinRoad to UFC Season 4Feb 1, 2026Bantamweight Lawrence Lui Sulang RangboFeatherweight Keiichiro Nakamura Sebastian SzalayLightweight Dom Mar Fan Kim Sang-wookMay 29, 2026Flyweight Namsrai Batbayar Yin ShuaiRoad to UFC Season 5Women's StrawweightFlyweightBantamweightFeatherweight
References