Bantamweights are headed to China.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov will head into enemy territory next month when he collides with No. 5-ranked Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Shanghai on Sat., Aug. 29, 2026, inside Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China.
Red Fury MMA was first to report the news, which MMAmania.com can confirm.
Nurmagomedov was previously linked to a fight with David Martinez at UFC Abu Dhabi; however, Martinez withdrew from the bout, leaving Nurmagomedov in need of a new opponent.
Now, he has one.
Nurmagomedov (20-1) will compete in his second UFC main event when he steps inside the Octagon in Shanghai.
The 30-year-old Dagestani contender is riding a two-fight win streak, with victories over Deiveson Figueiredo and Mario Bautista since losing to Merab Dvalishvili for the Bantamweight championship at UFC 311. Prior to that title fight setback, Nurmagomedov had rattled off 18 straight wins, including six inside UFC.
“The Kung Fu Kid” got himself back in the win column in his last outing, submitting the previously mentioned Figueiredo in the second round at UFC Macau (watch highlights). Prior to that, Yadong dropped a competitive unanimous decision to Sean O’Malley at UFC 324.
The 28-year-old Chinese standout is currently 12-4-1 inside the promotion and now gets another massive opportunity in front of his home crowd.
No other fights have been reported for UFC Shanghai just yet, but expect the promotion to load the card with several Asian fighters.
Man they keep giving Song these big fights
I don’t know who I dislike more. I guess I’d like the see the chink lose at home
UFC’s upcoming trip to Shanghai will now see a fun featherweight matchup.
The event takes place Aug. 29 at Shanghai Indoor Stadium in Shanghai, China, and is headlined by an important bantamweight bout between Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong. The UFC has now added a matchup between Jack Jenkins and Sean Woodson. The promotion officially announced the matchup Thursday.
Jenkins (14-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has produced mixed results in recent outings, but comes into this pairing after a unanimous decision win over Ramon Taveras in September. The Dana White’s Contender Series veteran native has four wins under the UFC banner, including a third-round finish of Herbert Burns at UFC 305.
Umar is great, but I don’t think he has the killer instinct to attain the GOAT status of Khabib or Islam.
He will win a UFC title at some point but his brother Usman is better, GOAT material, and will probably get a UFC belt first.
Usman has 7 title defences in the PFL already ffs and their LW division is more stacked than the UFC.
He’s going to have to do a lot less than people think in the UFC to attain GOAT status.