Five UFC Shanghai fights you should not skip
The bantamweight main event deserves the attention. The rest of the card has a title-picture co-main, a rematch born from a no contest, and two fresh UFC arrivals moving at remarkable speed.
Umar Nurmagomedov versus Song Yadong is the reason UFC Shanghai has a clear identity, but it is not the only reason to set the alarm. This card mixes ranked stakes with regional prospects, veteran resets, and a couple of fighters whose career timelines have accelerated almost overnight. The prelims begin at 3 a.m. Eastern and the main card at 6 a.m., so nobody needs a lecture about watching all thirteen fights live. If you are building a shorter viewing plan, these are the five matchups beyond the headliner that FightLobby would protect.
1. Yan Xiaonan vs Denise Gomes
The co-main event is an established top-five contender against the division's hottest new arrival. Yan has challenged for the title and owns a victory over current champion Mackenzie Dern. Gomes has won four straight and brings seven career knockouts into the biggest fight of her career. The appeal is not just résumé versus momentum. Yan wants a measured, intelligent kickboxing match; Gomes is at her best when pressure turns clean reads into physical exchanges. One woman is protecting her place. The other can take it in a single night.
2. Aoriqileng vs Kai Asakura
Both bantamweights arrive with something to repair. Aoriqileng was stopped by Cody Haddon in Macau in May. On the same card, Asakura produced a first-round knockout of Cameron Smotherman, the kind of result he needed after a difficult beginning to his UFC run. Asakura's speed and finishing instincts make him dangerous whenever the fight stays orderly at striking range. Aoriqileng's willingness to make exchanges messy is exactly what can test that order. With a home crowd and two fighters who rarely benefit from caution, this has action-fight energy without needing a ranking beside either name.
3. Alex Perez vs Sumudaerji II
Their first meeting in Macau ended as a no contest after an accidental low blow in the second round. The rematch gives both flyweights a clean chance to settle a matchup that had started to develop before it was cut short. Perez brings ranked experience, fast combinations, and the urgency of a fighter who cannot afford another empty result. Sumudaerji has the length and straight-line offense to make entries expensive. Immediate rematches are usually reserved for championship controversy; this one exists because neither man received an answer. That unfinished quality gives a mid-card flyweight fight unusual tension.