Road to UFC results: Violent knockouts highlight Day 1 in Shanghai
Road to UFC returned Thursday at the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai, China – and it brought the violence.
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.
Thursday's cards consisted of the featherweight and flyweight quarterfinal bouts, with some familiar names among the path.
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.
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.
Full Road to UFC Day 1 results include:
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