Road to the UFC sees fighters from four weight classes, flyweight to lightweight, competing in a tournament to break into the UFC proper. The first four instalments of the event go down in Singapore this weekend, ahead of UFC 275, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
Episode four goes down on Friday, and we’ve got a look at the bouts scheduled and what you can expect to see.
Bantamweight: Shohei Nose Vs. Wuliji Buren
Tale of the Tape
Fukuoka, Japan
24-years-old
5’6″
8-2-2
2-fight win streak
Chifeng, China
32-years-old
5’9″
20-8
No win streak
Pros and Cons
Shohei Nose
Pros
- Submission threat
- Good leg kicks
- Good wrestling
- Fast starter
- Diverse submission attack
Cons
- Slows as the fight goes
- TDD needs work
- Submission before position
Wuliji Buren
Pros
- N/A
Cons
- N/A
Prediction: I’m not doing a pros and cons for Buren since he’s not a prospect and has fought in the UFC already. He wasn’t UFC level then so I’m not sure why he’s getting another chance. He’s 4-1 since leaving the UFC, with the loss coming to another Road to UFC fighter, Keremuaili Maimaitituoheti.
With Shohei, I’m up and down with him. He’s a better grappler but has been in kickboxing fights to round out his craft. Buren is a submission grappler like Shohei so the winner could be determined by who has the better stand-up. It’s a fight Buren can win as Shohei himself isn’t UFC level either. I am picking Shohei though based on being the younger guy and having more momentum. Not confident at all though.
