The UFC will return to Shanghai this December.
Following weeks of rumors, promotion officials announced on Tuesday that December 9, 2023 will be the return date for the UFC in Shanghai, China.
Shanghai, the UFC is back! 💥#UFCShanghai | Dec 9th | ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/ea2NI6kTTZ
— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2023
No fights have been announced for what is expected to be a Fight Night card. A handful of match-ups were previously reported for the event.
The octagon last touched down in Shanghai in 2017, for a Fight Night event at the Mercedes-Benz Arena headlined by Kelvin Gastelum and Michael Bisping. The fight turned out to be the last of Bisping’s career.
December 9’s Fight Night will be the UFC’s first visit to mainland China since a 2019 event in Shenzhen. The promotion has also visited Beijing previously.
Currently, the women’s strawweight division is ruled over by two-time champ Weili Zhang. The Chinese star defeated Jessica Andrade in Shenzhen in 2019 to capture her first 115lb championship. While she would seem to be an obvious choice to headline the Shanghai event, it’s unclear whether the promotion would opt to book a title fight for a Fight Night event — even having done so before.
Currently anticipated for the UFC’s Shanghai return at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium are the following match-ups:
- Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
- Su Mudaerji vs. Allan Nascimento
- André Muniz vs. Park Jun-yong
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey
- Park Hyun-sung vs. Shannon Ross
