The Road to UFC 5: Abu Dhabi competition resumed this weekend in Abu Dhabi in conjunction with UFC 280, with athletes from four weight classes competing for UFC contracts. In addition, each card featured a featured fight, for a total of five fights in each event. Road to UFC 5 (followed immediately by Road to UFC 6) took place on Sunday, October 23, 2022, with the first semifinal action in the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight classes.
A marquee featherweight bout was also set for Road to UFC 5. In that match, Japan’s Keisuke Sasu faced China’s Ba Lajin. Sasu had been defeated earlier in the competition by Yi Zha, but he would have a second chance to impress UFC officials on Sunday.
The “Road to UFC” semi-final rounds will take place the day after UFC 280. These four tournaments are intended to identify Asian talent and will feature boxers from China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, India, and Indonesia.
The preliminary rounds began in June with 32 participants, and this event will choose the two finalists in each of the four divisions. Toshiomi Kazama had already earned a free spot in the bantamweight finals the day before when his opponent Min Woo Kim failed to make weight.
The Road to UFC 5 event will take place on October 23, 2022 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The event begins at 7 a.m. ET for Episode 5 of Road to UFC, followed by Episode 6 at 9 a.m. ET. and will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass. The complete results can be found below.
Where to Watch Road to UFC 5 Abu Dhabi:
Road to UFC 5 and 6 will be aired live on UFC Fight Pass internationally at 7 a.m. ET and 9 a.m. ET, respectively. Other Asian countries can also be found here:
Broadcast Live: Road to UFC Live (try this free)
MIGU in China, NOW SPORTS in Hong Kong, SONY TEN 2 in India, MOLA in Indonesia, WOWOW in Japan, and ASTRO SUPERSPORT 5 in Malaysia. Myanmar: CANAL+; Philippines: TAP GO; Singapore: HUB SPORTS, MIO SPORTS, MOLA; TVN, TVN SHOW, TVN SPORTS, TVING, South Korea TRUE SPORTS HD3 in Thailand and Cambodia, K+ SPORTS in Vietnam
Road to UFC 5: Abu Dhabi Bracket:
Flyweight Semifinals Bout
Bantamweight Semifinals Bout
Featherweight Semifinals Bout
Lightweight Semifinals Bout
Read More: Where to Watch UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev Live Stream, Fight card, start time and card preview
Complete Results:
Road to UFC Episode 5 will air on Sunday, October 23, at 7 a.m. ET.
Yi Zha vs. Koyomi Matsushima in the Featherweight Semifinals
Qui Lun vs. Seung Guk Choi in the Flyweight Semifinals
Won Bin Ki vs. Jeka Saragih in the lightweight semi-finals
Balajin vs. Keisuke Sasu, non-tournament featherweight
Road to UFC Episode 6 will air on Sunday, October 23, at 9 a.m. ET.
Semifinals at Featherweight: Jeong Yeong Lee vs. Lu Kai
Rinya Nakamura vs. Shohei Nose in the Bantamweight Semifinals
Topnoi Kiwram vs. Hyun Sung Park in the Flyweight Semifinals
Anshul Jubli vs. Kyung Pyo Kim in the lightweight semi-finals
Samandar Murodov vs Gian Siqueira, non-tournament welterweight
* The fight between Toshiomi Kazama and Min Woo Kim was called off after weigh-ins. Kazama made it to the finals.
