What had been expected to be the UFC’s return to Shanghai, China next month is no more.
On Wednesday, multiple sources reported that December 9, 2023’s UFC Shanghai card, just recently announced by the promotion, was on the move. Shu Hirata, a managing partner of On The Road Management, was first to break the news.
The Fight Night event is expected to shift to the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. No reason has been reported for the switch, which had a headliner of Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez only recently revealed.
It’s unclear how many of the previously reported match-ups for the December 9 card that would have been UFC Shanghai will remain intact. Already, a light heavyweight fight between Brendon Ribeiro and Mingyang Zhang is off, per a report by MMA Junkie’s Nolan King. Travel issues on the part of one fighter are the culprit in that case.
Thus far, minus Ribeiro vs. Mingyang, the following match-ups have been reported for the UFC’s December 9 event:
- Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutiérrez
- Su Mudaerji vs. Allan Nascimento
- André Muniz vs. Park Jun-yong
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey
- Park Hyun-sung vs. Shannon Ross
- Tatsuro Taira vs. Carlos Hernandez
- Rei Tsuruya vs. Ji Niushiyue
- Xiao Long vs. Lee Chang-ho
- Yi Zha vs. Li Kai Wen
- Rong Zhu vs. Shin Haraguchi
- Song Kenan vs. Kevin Jousset
