To start the fight, Yilan quickly put Culibao against the fence. Culiabo defended well while staying calm. He wound up elevated, but had good balance and was tripped briefly but got back up. Yilan had the back momentarily but Culibao fought the hands and got back to his feet. Still, Yilan had four minutes of cage control before Culibao was able to escape. Culibao in the last minute looked comfortable landing from the outside with a few nice leg kicks.

Much more separation in the beginning of round two. Culibao was doing a nice job picking his shots while throwing a lot of feints. Yilan was trying to find that one big shot and had trouble closing the distance in round two. Culibao started to put it together attacking the leg kicks, landing his right hand, and showing effective movement. Yilan put Culibao against the cage in the final seconds but it was Culibao that took the back and got a brief takedown.

A good jab and a calf kick found a home for Culibao more and more at the beginning of round three. Yilan attempting to just blitz in but was getting caught with the right hand coming in by Culibao. Midways in the final round Yilan grabbed a leg and put Culibao against the cage. Yilan looking to grind out the final minute Culibao used a ninja choks to escape and separate. Another failed takedown from Yilan to end the fight.

The win was Culibao’s first inside the octagon, as he now has a 1-1-1 promotional record.

Official Result: Josh Culibao def. Sha Yilan by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post UFC Vegas 27 Results: Josh Culibao Turns Back Debuting Sha Yilan appeared first on Cageside Press.

Yilan “Wolverine” Sha
Standing at 5’8″
Fighting at 145 lbs (featherweight)
26-years-old
Fighting out of Heilongjiang, China
Training out of Longyun MMA Gym
A pro record of 19-6
9 KO/TKOs
5 Submissions

How will he fare in the UFC:

Like many Chinese prospects, Sha has a lot of experience. He’s only been in MMA for five years and has fought already 25 times. Along the way, he’s fought a lot of challenging opponents.

Where Sha excels the most is his wrestling. He closes the distance very well and is really good at adjusting to cut the corner to secure the takedowns. Sha is a good enough wrestler to complete takedowns in space as his timing and speed are on point. When he closes the distance and gets his arms around guys he has the ability to slam guys or just throw other grown men around in an emphatic fashion.

On the feet, he likes to bring an active kickboxing attack but has trouble finding his range. Even with his hands, he struggles to find a home. Sha does have good striking for the most part. He has the hand speed, the power, and is a dangerous counter striker. Sha keeps his hands low, swings from the hip, and brings his hands back to his face way too slow. That all will hold him back as a good striker in the UFC.

With good wrestling, the grappling Sha has is a fantastic compliment. As soon as he gets the fight grounded he’s immediately passing guard and transitioning. Quickly and intelligently he gets into the mount with ease. His ground and pound I’d say is fight-stopping and he is a submission threat as well. Sha does lack positional control as he finds himself in a dominant position one minute and then on his back the next minute. While on his back two things usually happen. Sha either gets finished, and I don’t want to say he quits on himself but he will accept defeat when in a bad position. On the flip side, Sha off his back does very well at either exploding and regaining back top position or he will make the right adjustments with his feet, legs, and hips to create perfectly executed sweeps and reversals.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Yilan Sha appeared first on Cageside Press.

MMA Fighting was the first to report the news that Josh Culibao will welcome Yilan Sha to the promotion on May 22 at a Fight Night event headlined by Rob Font vs. Cody Garbrandt. Sources subsequently confirmed the fight to Cageside Press.

Culibao (8-1-1) will be looking for his first UFC win in May. The Australian fought to a draw against highly touted Charles Jourdain last year at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Aldana on ‘Fight Island.’ Culibao made his own promotional debut last year in New Zealand against Jalin Turner but would be finished in the second round. That loss would snap his undefeated record.

Sha (19-6) makes his octagon debut on a two-fight winning streak. Most recently, he defeated Tanzhao Wang in December via a rear-naked choke. One month prior, the Chinese fighter would defeat Nuerdebieke Bahetihan via a unanimous decision. Sha kept busy in 2020 fighting six times and will be dropping back down to featherweight when he arrives in the UFC.

UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt will take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and will most likely be broadcast on ESPN+.

With the latest addition, the May 22 fight card now looks like this:

• Cody Garbrandt vs. Rob Font
• Felicia Spencer vs. Danyelle Wolf
• Xionan Yan vs. Carla Esparza
• David Dvorak vs. Raulian Paiva
• Denys Bondar vs. Victor Rodriguez
• Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Alan Baudot
• Justin Tafa vs. Jared Vanderaa
• Josh Culibao vs. Yilan Sha

The post Josh Culibao Welcomes Yilan Sha To The UFC On May 22 appeared first on Cageside Press.