Chinese fighter wins UFC contract through Road To UFC

The Road To UFC held its opening round of third season competitions in Shanghai at the UFC Performance Institute over the weekend.

Eight athletes in the featherweight and women's strawweight divisions advanced to the semifinals.

As a pathway to UFC for Asia's MMA (mixed martial arts) athletes, Road To UFC applies a "win and advance" rule. The final winner of each weight championship will receive a UFC competition contract.

A total of 14 Chinese athletes took part, facing opponents from South Korea, Japan and India. Ten of them won entry to the next rounds.

Credit: Ti Gong

Wang Cong from Dalian, Liaoning Province, is an MMA rising star, skilled in Sanda, kickboxing and boxing.

In Shanghai, she took just 3 minutes and 4 seconds to defeat her Peruvian opponent Paula Luna by submission (mounted guillotine), giving full play to her ground fighting skills.

Credit: Ti Gong

Her dominant performance won her an UFC contract ahead of schedule, making her the third Chinese female athlete currently active in the UFC, fighting in the flyweight division.

The UFC Performance Institute in Jing'an District opened in 2019. At 93,000 square feet, the venue is almost three times the size of the UFC Elite Training Center in Las Vegas, and said to be the largest and most advanced MMA training venue in the world.