Road to UFC results: Violent knockouts highlight Day 1 in Shanghai
Of the 10 bouts that took place over the span of two episodes filmed, six ended by knockout or TKO.
Perhaps the most stunning of the bunch was an expertly-timed knee by Keiichiro Nakamura as he caught Eoh Jin Park diving in for a takedown.
A NASTY KNOCKOUT VIA KNEE 🫣Keiichiro Nakamura delivers a stunner to advance to the #RTU4 semi-finals![ Watch NOW on @UFCFightPass : https://t.co/e7xhpmFV0h ] pic.twitter.com/yDfPvfU525
— UFC (@ufc) May 22, 2025
Thursday's cards consisted of the featherweight and flyweight quarterfinal bouts, with some familiar names among the path.
ENDS IT UNDER A MINUTE 👏Agulali gets the KO in a frenzy to advance to the Road to UFC 4 semi-finals! 🤩[ Watch NOW on @UFCFightPass : https://t.co/e7xhpmFV0h ] pic.twitter.com/UNH8A5rH8B
— UFC (@ufc) May 22, 2025
Road to UFC alum Kaiwen Li and Dana White's Contender Series alum Aaron Tau both picked up first-round stoppage victories, but other Road to UFC alums Xiaocan Feng and Baergeng Jieleyisi came up short.
RIGHT HAND SITS HIM DOWN 👊Namsrai Batbayar earns the TKO to advance to the #RTU4 semi-finals![ Watch NOW on @UFCFightPass : https://t.co/e7xhpmFV0h ] pic.twitter.com/ZRDtEnBzRG
— UFC (@ufc) May 22, 2025
One American-born fighter, Mansher Khera, competed Thursday as he dominated Aziz Khaydarov en route to a unanimous decision. Khera is a highly-touted jiu-jitsu practitioner who has been on the cusp of a UFC call for some time.
Road to UFC will return for its semfinal bouts Aug. 22, one day before the promotion holds a main-brand event in Shanghai – the first on mainland China since November 2017.
Kaiwen Li def. Dong Hyun Seo via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:21
Agulali def. Mrdiul Saikia via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:37
Chang Min Yoon def. Jin Aoi via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Aaron Tau def. Rio Tirto via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 1, 1:26
Mansher Khera def. Aziz Khaydarov via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)
Sebastian Szalay def. Baergeng Jieleyisi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Shuai Yin def. Kai Yoshida via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:38
Keiichiro Nakamura def. Eoh Jin Park via knockout (knee) – Round 2, 2:24
Namsrai Batbayar def. Wataru Yamauchi via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:46
Arisa Matsuda def. Xiaocan Feng via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Road to UFC results: Violent knockouts highlight Day 1 in Shanghai
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