Only one fight on the night’s main card went the distance (though one other, Alex Perez vs. Su Mudaerj, ended early due to a groin strike). That was Jake Matthews vs. Carlston Harris. On the prelims, five of seven bouts ended inside the distance.

With plenty of action to choose from, the UFC went with headliner Song Yadong, and former title challenger Kai Asakura, when the time for Performance of the Night bonuses arrived. In Song’s case, he submitted Deiveson Figueiredo in the second round with a guillotine choke, rebounding from a loss to Sean O’Malley earlier this year.

It was the lone bright spot for China on the UFC Macau card – while Japanese fighters fared well, every other Chinese star suffered defeat.

Speaking of Japanese stars, Kai Asakura’s move to bantamweight paid off. He absolutely crushed Cameron Smotherman, dropping the American and knocking him out inside of a round. After losing his first two UFC bouts including an immediate flyweight title shot upon arrival from RIZIN, Asakura finally looked like a viable contender on Saturday, though steps up in competition will be necessary moving forward.

Fight of the Night honors at UFC Macau went to Alonzo Menified and Zhang Mingyang, with their light heavyweight brawl landing just shy of the round. Menifield came out on top in that one.

All four bonus-winners earn $100,000 U.S. for their efforts. All other finishers pick up $25,000. That list is comprised of Sergei Pavlovich, Luis Felipe Dias, Cody Haddon, Rei Tsuruya, Rodrigo Vera, and Jaqueline Amorim.

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Round 1 – Zhang opened the fight aggressively, firing a kick up the middle before following with a head kick. Menifield answered with a low kick and a clean left hook. Menifield began working the calf kicks before both fighters unloaded heavy shots in a wild exchange.

The two clinched shortly after, with Menifield forcing Zhang to the fence while securing double underhooks and locking his hands behind Zhang’s back. Zhang defended with body shots and knees, but Menifield stayed tight in the position.

Zhang eventually reversed the clinch and started landing knees to the legs and body. The two battled along the fence until Menifield separated and unleashed a heavy flurry as he searched for the knockout.

Zhang fired back immediately despite appearing rocked by the combination. Menifield pressured him back against the fence, but Zhang answered with a vicious elbow that stunned Menifield momentarily. Menifield responded by throwing massive power shots and landing several bombs of his own.

Menifield eventually dropped Zhang with a massive shot. Once the fight returned to the feet against the fence, Menifield continued unloading massive shots until Zhang could no longer withstand the punishment.

Alonzo Menifield traveled to Macau and pulled off a massive upset victory.

Official Result: Alonzo Menifield def. Zhang Mingyang via R1 TKO, 4:15

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Zhang Mingyang

Johnny Walker crumbled Zhang Mingyang on Saturday handing the “Mountain Tiger” his first loss in six years and 12 fights. Zhang, who entered the fight ranked at #14 in the division is now 3-1 within the UFC. Walker entered the fight ranked at #13. Tough loss that kills a lot of momentum for Zhang, as that would have been a massive victory and feather in his cap, in front of his home country as well.

A good next opponent for the 27-year-old light heavyweight would be against the winner of Modestas Bukauskas vs Paul Craig.

Now this might be a bit of a head scratcher matchup, but Zhang is still young, has a solid record and plenty of time to ascend the ranks. Why rush? Paul Craig and Modestas Bukauskas are scheduled to fight on September 6th so the timing could be perfect. Craig is a nearly 10-year UFC vet with a 9-9-1, 1 NC record with the UFC. Craig moved up to light heavyweight after a three-fight skid at 185lbs, losing to big names like Brendan Allen, Caio Borralho and Bo Nickal. His most recent fight, against Rodolfo Bellato, ended in a no contest from an up kick. Bukauskas is 6-4 within the UFC and has won three of his last four fights. Modestas was last in the cage back in May when he snagged a split decision win opposite of Ion Cutelaba.

Both of these guys are seasoned vets that have had past struggles but are still respectable names. Neither are currently ranked, but who knows if Zhang will remain ranked or slip out of the updated rankings. Winner gets a ranking.

Zhang’s next fight: Winner of Modestas Bukauskas vs Paul Craig

Brian Ortega

Aljamain Sterling outworked Brian Ortega on his way to a unanimous decision victory in the co-main event of UFC Shanghai Saturday. The story heading into the fight was Ortega’s abysmal weight cut which forced the fight to take place at a catchweight of 153lbs. With the loss, T-City falls to 8-5, 1 NC in the UFC. Ortega has lost four of his last five bouts dating to his 2021 title challenge against Alexander Volkanovski.

Ortega entered the cage on Saturday ranked at #5 within the featherweight division while his opponent was ranked at #7. Brian’s next fight should be against Aaron Pico if he decides to try and stay at featherweight. This pick is from a previous edition of losers and could still work although not nearly as practical of a matchup after Ortega’s performance. Pico looked good in his UFC debut, till he didn’t, receiving a spinning elbow from Lerone Murphy that flatlined him at UFC 319.

If Ortega elects to move up to 155lbs, a fight between the loser of Benoit Saint-Denis and Mauricio Ruffy makes a lot of sense. The pair are slated to do battle on September 6th. Benoit Saint Denis is currently ranked at #13 while Ruffy is ranked at #15. Giving Ortega the loser of this bout would make a lot of sense as both fighters have name power. Brian’s first fight at lightweight should be notable but with how shark infested the division is, the matchup can’t be completely unwarranted. Either guy offers a unique and dangerous scrap for Ortega which he always embraces.

Ortega’s next fight at 145lbs: Aaron Pico

Ortega’s next fight at 155lbs: Benoit Saint-Denis vs Mauricio Ruffy loser

Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Serghei Pavlovich secured a unanimous decision victory against Waldo Cortes-Acosta on Saturday. Waldo absorbed some big shots on his way to just his second loss in his pro career. Waldo is now 7-2 within the UFC and entered the fight on Saturday ranked at #6. Serghei entered the fight ranked at #8 within the heavyweight division.

A solid next opponent for Cortes-Acosta would be Tai Tuivasa. It’s a name fans haven’t heard in a while. The big fella hasn’t competed in over a year since losing a split decision to Jairzinho Rozenstruik in August of 2024. Rozenstruik has since been released from the promotion. This has the makings to be a great banger. Tai loves to strike, Waldo has good boxing, cardio and a great chin. Definitely has the ingredients to be a wild fight. Waldo would have to wait a few months, but it could potentially make sense with the damage he took at UFC Shanghai.

Tai has lost his last five fights but against stellar competition (Ciryl Gane, Sergei Pavlovich, Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura and Jairzinho Rozenstruik). This fight has main card written all over it and could even sneak into a PPV line up. Winner would likely receive a top #5-7 ranking, maybe even higher, with a finish.

Cortes-Acosta’s next fight: Tai Tuivasa

Kevin Borjas

Kevin Borjas was thrashed by Sumudaerji on the main card of UFC Shanghai Saturday, on his way to a unanimous decision defeat. With the loss the 2023 Contender Series product is now just 1-3 in the UFC. Kevin’s lone victory with the promotion came in March of this year against Ronaldo Rodriguez. However, Kevin’s debut loss has a bit of an asterisk next to it considering it was opposite the streaking Joshua Van. Needless to say, Kevin is still in a bit of a hot seat here.

All things considered, Kevin’s next fight should be against loser of Azat Maksum vs Mitch Raposo. That fight is pretty far out and currently scheduled for late October. Edgar Chairez is the matchup that makes the most sense, but he’s injured (they were previously scheduled to fight each other, both have 1-1 record since then). So, the loser of Azat vs Mitch will have to do. Mitch has a common opponent and outcome as he also lost a decision to Sumudaerji in April. Raposo is currently 0-2 with the UFC but both have been split decision losses. Azat is 1-2 with the UFC but his two losses are decisions against solid guys: Charles Johnson and Tagir Ulanbekov. His only win in the UFC was his debut a split decision nod against Tyson Nam. Giving Borjas the loser makes a lot of sense, and the loser of the bout would likely be cut.

Borjas’s next fight: Azat Maksum vs Mitch Raposo loser

Kiefer Crosbie

Taiyilake Nueraji took less than a round to stop Kiefer Crosbie to open the main event of UFC Shanghai on Saturday. Crosbie, a seven-fight veteran of Bellator, is now 0-3 in the UFC since being signed in 2023. Kiefer has been finished in the first round in every one of his fights (Kevin Jousset and Sam Patterson prior to Saturday). Considering it was Nueraji’s UFC debut and that Kevin has been cut by the UFC, Crosbie will likely be cut.

If Crosbie is not released from the promotion a good next opponent would be either Adam Fuggit or Billy Ray Goff. Fuggit is 2-3 within the UFC. Adam was last in action on July 19th, when Islam Dulatov took less than a round to stop him. Fuggit, like Crosbie, has also been stopped in all of his losses. Another good option would be a fight against Billy Ray Goff who is 1-2 within the UFC. Billy last fought in May and was submitted by Ramiz Brahimaj. Loser of this bout gets cut- full stop. Super competitive weight class and these guys currently are struggling to be UFC caliber.

Crosbie’s next fight: Adam Fuggit or Billy Ray Goff

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Mingyang was coming off a win over Anthony “Lionheart” Smith in Smith’s retirement fight.

Right off the bell, Mingyang got the fight down, putting Walker on his back after Walker’s own takedown attempt backfired. That gave Mingyang some space for elbows, while Walker stayed mobile off his back. He would make it back up, soon circling on the outside while Mingyang walked him down. A right hand by the Chinese star hit home, and Walker clinched up, looking for a takedown. Walker jabbed with his left and connected at least once, then circled, doing laps of the octagon on the outside. Walker ripped a leg kick, Mingyang answered with a right hand.

With a minute remaining in the opening round, Walker shot for a takedown, only to see it stuffed. Mingyang responded with an elbow that hurt Walker. Nasty.

Round two saw Walker rocked again early care of a Mingyang right hand. But Walker saw the momentum shift in his direction when a leg kick (a series of them really) felled Mingyang. Zhang was hurt! Walker was all over him, dropping punches on the downed Mingyang while standing. Mingyang nearly made it back up, but couldn’t, with Walker raining down more blows before the ref finally waved things up! Out came the worm, as Johnny Walker did his traditional celebratory dance. The leg kicks changed the course of the UFC Shanghai main event, giving Walker a big win over a rising Chinese star.

LEVELS TO THIS GAME 🫡@JohnnyWalker earns the R2 TKO in enemy territory tonight!

[ #UFCShanghai ] pic.twitter.com/006OlP4NS8

— UFC (@ufc) August 23, 2025

Official Result: Johnny Walker def. Zhang Mingyang by TKO, Round 2, 2:37

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In the main event, one that should go over well with Chinese fight fans, Zhang Mingyang gets his first main event billing in the UFC, taking on popular Brazilian Johnny Walker. Mingyang, 27, has won his first three UFC fights to get here, most recently defeating Anthony Smith in “Lionheart’s” retirement fight.

Walker, once considered a title hopeful, has lost his last two fights, but the Brazilian still holds plenty of name value among fight fans.

In the co-main event, former featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega faces off against Aljamain Sterling, the ex-bantamweight champ now calling 145lbs home.

UFC Shanghai: Walker vs. Mingyang Weigh-In Results

Main card

Light Heavyweight: Johnny Walker (206) vs. Zhang Mingyang (205)
Featherweight: Brian Ortega (153) vs. Aljamain Sterling (153) – bout shifted to catchweight
Heavyweight: Sergei Pavlovich (255.5) vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta (262)
Flyweight: Su Mudaerji (125.5) vs. Kevin Borjas (126)
Welterweight: Taiyilake Nueraji (170) vs. Kiefer Crosbie (170.5)

Preliminary card

Lightweight: Maheshate Hayisaer (155) vs. Gauge Young (155.5)
Flyweight: Lone’er Kavanagh (126) vs. Charles Johnson (126)
Lightweight: Rong Zhu (155.5) vs. Austin Hubbard (155.5)
Middleweight: Michel Pereira (186) vs. Kyle Daukaus (185)
Featherweight: Yi Zha (145) vs. Westin Wilson (146)
Bantamweight: Xiao Long (136) vs. You Su-young (135.5)
Light Heavyweight: Uran Satybaldiev (204) vs. Diyar Nurgozhay (205.5)

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Ian Machado Garry

Machado Garry had to survive late in the final round in the UFC Kansas City headliner, but ultimately earned a unanimous decision victory. After this victory, Dana White announced that Garry would be the backup fighter for the welterweight title fight going down in Montreal in just three weeks. While this is not inconsequential, three weeks is a quick turnaround for someone who just went 25 minutes and found himself in trouble in the late stages of the bout. Assuming no one pulls out at UFC 315, we should be trying to book Garry for a fight in the second half of the year.

I originally had Sean Brady face Joaquin Buckley in a previous iteration of “What’s Next”, but with “New Mansa” getting booked against Kamaru Usman in June, this leaves the door open for Brady to fight the Irishman. With both Shavkat Rakhmonov and potentially even Islam Makhachev in play, neither Brady nor Garry can confidently claim the next shot at the title, which is why a fight between the two makes so much sense.

Machado Garry’s next fight: Sean Brady

Zhang Mingyang

The “Mountain Tiger” kept his perfect 100% 1^st-round finish rate alive as he TKO’d the retiring Anthony Smith in just 4 minutes and 3 seconds. Though the outcome may have been a hard watch for some, we cannot say it was that surprising considering the miles that Smith has accrued over the years.

This win will welcome Zhang to the rankings, taking Smith’s #15 spot. Fights against Bogdan Guskov, Volkan Oezdemir, the Menifield/Sy winner or the Walker/Murzakanov loser are all on the table, but I went with Nikita Krylov. The veteran Krylov has enough experience to test the 26-year-old Zhang, but is also vulnerable enough to be a winnable for the Chinese fighter.

Zhang’s next fight: Nikita Krylov

David Onama

The 30-year-old Onama got the biggest scalp of his career and pushed his win streak to four with a unanimous decision victory over Giga Chikadze. Though this was a nice, professional win for Onama, it wasn’t exactly the type of statement that will launch him inside the top10. For that reason, I anticipate the UFC to give someone ranked below him. There are plenty of featherweights who have a case for a fight against someone like Onama. You cannot go wrong with any of Chepe Mariscal, Steve Garcia, Hyder Amil, Nathaniel Wood or Doo Ho Choi. In the end, I picked Dan Ige who himself will probably be asked to test another prospect after beating Sean Woodson two weeks ago.

Onama’s next fight: Dan Ige

Abus Magomedov

It once again wasn’t pretty, but Abus Magomedov did get his hand raised for the third consecutive time. And with Michel Pereira ranked at #14 before this fight, Magomedov will now be a ranked middleweight come Tuesday. Not unlike Onama, this wasn’t the statement win that will have the UFC eager to push Magomedov further up the ladder. Instead, he will likely be tasked to immediately defend his ranking against an unranked opponent. Looking at his situation with this lens, the winner of Kelvin Gastelum and Joe Pyfer became an easy choice for me.

Magomedov’s next fight: Gastelum/Pyfer winner

Randy Brown

With his Fight of the Night win at UFC Kansas City, “Rudeboy” keeps being one of the most underrated fighters in the division as he now moves to 10-3 in his last 13 fights. Those three losses came to a prime Vicente Luque, Jack Della Maddalena and a split decision loss to a Bryan Battle who had missed weight.

There are so many fitting names for Brown in that tier of fighters just outside the rankings. Both Oban Elliott and Mike Malott would be fine options should they be victorious in their next fights, Chidi Njokuani and Punahele Soriarno have been perfect since coming down from middleweight, Gabriel Bonfim, Sam Patterson and Rinat Fakhretdinov would also be viable names. I ended up choosing Fakhretdinov’s last opponent, Carlos Leal. Most people seem to think Leal beat Fakhretdinov in October and he followed that up by making it look easy against Alex Morono in March. A win for either man would inch them one step closer to a ranked opponent.

Brown’s next fight: Carlos Leal

Ikram Aliskerov

The multiple time sambo world champion reminded fans why he came into the UFC with the reputation he had as he made quick work of Andre Muniz to open the UFC Kansas City main card. That short notice loss to Robert Whittaker last June killed off a lot of Aliskerov’s hype, but this first-round KO victory over a former top 15 name should put him back on the map.

I could see the promotion try to push him up the ranks quickly as the 32-year-old is clearly better than his lack of ranking would suggest. Their high expectations for him were evident when they tried to book him against Paulo Costa in 2023 who was nearly ranked inside the top5 at the time. However, I would instead try to turn him around fairly quickly and have him fight another known, but lower-ranked name. Jack Hermansson has been MIA even since he upset Joe Pyfer in February of 2024, but he was ranked and only lost his ranking spot due to inactivity. Assuming he’s ready to come back, why not have him test Aliskerov sometime around June or July?

Aliskerov’s next fight: Jack Hermansson

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As entertaining as Ian Machado Garry vs. Carlos Prates was, it was another 170lb affair that took home Fight of the Night at the Kansas City event. That was Randy Brown vs. Nicolas Dalby, a scrappy affair to say the least, and one that saw Brown, swinging wild, land a knockout blow in the second round.

To be more accurate, both men were swinging wild by that point. Despite already being hurt, Dalby did his best to fire back. The finishing sequence was, quite frankly, the closest thing to a real life iteration of Rock ’em, Sock ’em robots you’re about to find.

The slugfest takes home $50,000 per fighter for securing the bonus, and joins two Performance of the Night bonuses handed out on Saturday. Those went to newcomer Malcolm Wellmaker, and Chinese light heavyweight Zhang Mingyang.

Wellmaker, an undefeated 8-0 coming in, improved on that record by knocking out Cameron Saaiman with a picture-perfect right hook. Saaiman had once upon a time been a hot prospect coming in off the Contender Series, but has struggled more recently.

As for Mingyang, he sent Anthony “Lionheart” Smith into retirement care of a TKO finish, smashing the former title challenger with elbows inside of a round in the UFC Kansas City co-main event.

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Smith had fought for light heavyweight gold (opposite Jon Jones), headlined over a half-dozen UFC cards, and become one of the longest-serving veterans in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

He entered his final bout the underdog against China’s Zhang, but that was no surprise given one fighter was at the tail end of his career, and the other starting out.

Mingyang fired a side kick to the midsection early, a kick he would return to moments later. Between those attacks the pair exchanged punches over the top; a minute in, they clinched up after another exchange, Mingyang firing a knee in the clinch. Smith reversed, getting Mingyang’s back to the fence. Coming off it, they’d do some hand fighting in close, Smith controlling wrists and firing an elbow, then another. Yet it was Smith getting split open, as Mingyang was firing offense in kind. And Mingyang’s elbows were equally if not more nasty. Soon, Smith was pawing at his eye as the blood trickled into it. Mingyang closed the distance for more, and Smith changed levels, only to have a takedown attempt stuffed. Smith would then try to drag the Chinse fighter into his guard; Zhang just barely missed an illegal kick.

Smith appeared to be fading in the final 90 seconds, bleeding badly, on his knees, and taking damage as Mingyang landed elbow after elbow. With the ref hollering “move Anthony” repeatedly, Mingyang kept smashing away, several blows hitting the back of the head. The ref either didn’t see them, or didn’t consider them illegal, eventually waving off the fight. After the loss, Smith flipped off someone in the crowd and moved to the fence, Zhang Mingyang trying to restrain him.

Cooler heads prevailed, and Mingyang got the celebrate the biggest win of his career. Smith, meanwhile, wraps up a solid run that, while it didn’t produce gold, left him a household name and one of the more recognizable faces at 205lbs.

Hanging it up! Thank you for everything, Anthony Smith! 🤍🦁 pic.twitter.com/5fvGDDXH4m

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) April 27, 2025

Official Result: Zhang Mingyang def. Anthony Smith by TKO (elbows), Round 1, 4:03

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An action-packed evening saw multiple explosive finishes and a solid main event between Deiveson Figueiredo and Petr Yan. With so many stoppages, however, the promotion opted to forgo a Fight of the Night, and instead awarded four Performance of the Night bonuses when the dust had settled.

Among the winners, strawweight Shi Ming, who floored Feng Xiaocan in a preliminary card fight, a come-from-behind victory that stunned viewers. One of the scariest head kicks in recent memory, Xiaocan was removed from the cage on a stretcher, head immobilized. Luckily, Xiaocan was responsive after being unconscious for about four minutes, and her CT scan was negative per the UFC Macau broadcast, which did an excellent job providing updates.

Still, the practicing physician will be taking a good chunk of time off. Ming, who won the Road to UFC 3 tournament with the head kick KO, will now have to fess up to her parents, after telling them she had entered a traditional martial arts competition.

Also among the bonus winners on Saturday was Chinese light heavyweight Zhang Mingyang, who put away newcomer Ozzy Diaz. The knockout improved Mingyang to 2-0 under the UFC banner. Muslim Salikhov turned back the clock once again, landing a spinning wheel kick on Song Kenan for his own $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Gabriella Fernandes, meanwhile, secured both an upset victory and a come-from-behind win when she choked out Wang Cong.

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MMA fans might remember Diaz as the opponent of Joe Pyfer on Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2022, in the infamous “Be Joe Pyfer” fight.

Mingyang opened the action with a kick to the body, before chopping at the legs of Ozzy Diaz. Diaz stayed on the outside early, circling, as Zhang Mingyang continued to chop away with kicks. Diaz finally got his jab going a minute in, just a single punch, then another. The leg kicks continued to flow from Mingyang; at least a couple had some head behind them. Mingyang also fired off a few combos, mostly blocked if they landed at all.

Still, it only took one blow to change the course of the fight. Just past two minutes in, Zhang Mingyang sat Diaz down with an elbow! The Chinese light heavyweight then swarmed as Diaz tried to get to his knees. Ground n’ pound flowed, and the ref waved things off in due course, giving Zhang Mingyang his second win under the UFC banner, and 18th career win overall – with 18 finishes across them.

“This knockout is for you, for my hometown crowd,” Mingyang said following the victory, speaking via a translator with Michael Bisping.

Official Result: Zhang Mingyang def. Ozzy Diaz by TKO (elbow and punches), Round 1, 2:25

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