The Road to UFC tournament is returning this month, with fighters from around Asia in four different weight classes vying for contracts with the UFC. This time out, women’s strawweight is in the mix, replacing the lightweight division on the men’s side. Flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight remain as part of Road to UFC 3, with the flyweights and bantamweights seeing action in the third episode, which arrives on May 19, 2024 at the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai, China.
We’ve got all the talent on the upcoming season scouted — here’s a look!
Bantamweight, Daermisi Zhawupasi vs. Ren Ozaki
Tale of the Tape
Shanghai, China
24
Five-foot-eight
8-1
Combined opponent’s record: 35-13-1
Chichibu, Saitama, Japan
22
Five-foot-seven
6-0-2
Combined opponent’s record: 17-25-5
Pros and Cons
Daermisi Zhawupasi
Pros
- Submission threat
- Good wrestling
- Chain wrestles well
- Strong defensive wrestling
- Good grappling
- Fast starter
- Good ground and pound
Cons
- Questionable chin
- Shoots from too far out at times
Ren Ozaki
Pros
- Accurate
- Heavy hands
- Fast release
- Light footwork
- Good counter striker
- Quick
- Uses a lot of feints
- Good kicks
Cons
- N/A
Prediction: Zhawupasi is one of the many returning fighters who deserve another opportunity. I’ve also really liked what I saw of Ozaki. He’s a really good striker who has the technique, speed, and power.
On the other end, Zhawupasi is a strong wrestler. From what I’ve seen Ozaki has defended all takedown attempts but Zhawupasi is a different beast. Zhawupasi is aggressive starting fast and can chain wrestle very well. We’ll see how good the defense of Ozaki really is. Ozaki didn’t have any glaring holes when watching him but there are a lot of unknowns surrounding him. I’m siding with Zhawupasi because I know he’s a good fighter and he’s going to bring it to a less-tested Ozaki.
