Road to UFC 5 Full Results

Staff — Sun, 23 Oct 2022 08:00:53 +0000

The Road to UFC tournament resumed this weekend in conjunction with UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, featuring fighters from four weight classes competing for UFC contracts. In addition, a featured fight was positioned on each card, with a total of five fights per event. On Sunday, October 23, 2022, Road to UFC 5 (followed immediately by Road to UFC 6) went down, with the first semifinal action in the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight divisions.

In addition, a featured featherweight fight was scheduled for Road to UFC 5. That fight saw Japan’s Keisuke Sasu take on Ba Lajin of China. Sasu had been defeated by Yi Zha earlier in the tournament, but was getting a second chance to impress UFC officials on Sunday.

Road to UFC 5 takes place Sunday, October 23, 2022 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The event streams live on UFC Fight Pass, getting underway at 7AM ET. Full results can be found below.

Road to UFC 5 Results

Featherweight: Yi Zha def. Koyomi Matsushima via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) – Road to UFC Semifinal
Flyweight: Choi Seung Guk def. Qiu Lun via unanimous decision (29-28×3) – Road to UFC Semifinal
Lightweight: Jeka Saragih def. Won Bi Ki via R1 KO – Road to UFC Semifinal
Bantamweight: Toshiomi Kazama vs. Kim Min Woo – Road to UFC Semifinal *
Featherweight: Keisuke Sasu def. Ba Lajin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

* Toshiomi Kazama vs. Kim Min Woo canceled following weigh-ins. Kazama advances to the next round.

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Road to UFC: Episode 5 Breakdown and Predictions

Shawn Bitter — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 04:24:54 +0000

The Road to UFC tournament returns in conjunction with this week’s UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Taking place at the Etihad Arena, Road to UFC 5 will feature four weight classes, from flyweight to lightweight, all of which come in the semifinal round. A featherweight feature fight will also be included, resulting in a five-fight card.

UFC contracts are on the line! Here’s a look at what’s to come.

Featherweight: Yi Zha Vs. Koyomi Matsushima

Tale of the Tape

Yi Zha
Aba, Sichuan, China
25-years-old
5’7″
20-3
Two-fight win streak

Kayomi Matsushima
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
30-years-old
5’8″
13-5
No win streak

Pros and Cons

Yi Zha

Pros

Good ground and pound
Strong wrestling
Submission threat
Scrambles really well
Light footwork
Good output
Fast starter
Good off his back

Cons

Questionable chin
TDD needs a little work

Kayomi Matsushima

Pros

Submission threat
Quick feet
Chain wrestles well
Strong grappling
Creative striking/takedowns
Scrambles really well
Solid wrestling
Good kicks

Cons

Shoots takedowns from too far out at times
Slows as the fight goes
Hands held low
Throws single strikes
Questionable chin

Prediction: This is both a fun fight and a tough fight to call. This is a fight between two athletes who are well-rounded and are maybe UFC level.

Matsushima is exciting and even in fights where his body language isn’t good, he’s still giving it 100%. Zha has been cleaner in his fights getting the wins with little issue and hardly any diversity. Matsushima over and over has had to dig deep to get his hand raised.

While that might not look great in theory it’s a valuable tool. I think Zha is the more talented fighter but Matsushima edges him in a grueling fight which is I think the way this fight will go. I see a lot of wrestling exchanges and I see Matsushima winning scrambles and landing more takedowns. Zha isn’t going to find it as easy to ground Matsushima as he did his last opponent. I think Matsushima has too much dog in him for Zha and he wins a close decision.