{"id":869927,"date":"2026-08-27T06:20:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T06:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/869927\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T06:20:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T06:20:44","slug":"ufc-shanghais-best-betting-props-parlays-and-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/869927\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC Shanghai\u2019s best betting props, parlays and picks"},"content":{"rendered":"

UFC Shanghai<\/a> happens this weekend (Sat., Aug. 29, 2026) inside Shanghai Oriental Center in Shanghai, China, streaming live on Paramount+<\/a> (starting at 3 AM ET.!<\/a>). The main event features one of the longest-tenured Chinese fighters in the promotion.<\/p>\n

Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Song Yadong<\/a> is a match-up of Top 10<\/a> Bantamweights, with Nurmagomedov looking at a possible title shot with a win. Song will be trying to upset that possibility and send the Shanghai crowd home happy.<\/p>\n

The co-main event is Yan Xiaonan vs. Denise Gomes in a match-up of hard-hitting Strawweights. Rounding out the main card is Aoriqileng vs. Kai Asakura, Alex Perez vs. Sumudaerji, Liu Ce vs. Levi Rodrigues Jr. and Bilal Hasan vs. Nilson Rojas.<\/p>\n

The featured \u201cPrelims\u201d bout is Namsrai Batbayar vs. Andre Lima. The undercard also has Rei Tsuruya vs. Kevin Borjas and Jack Jenkins vs. Sean Woodson.<\/p>\n

As always, there\u2019s lots to bet on this card and we\u2019ve got odds for all the fights below:<\/p>\n

\"Tim<\/a>\"MMA<\/p>\n

FIGHT STREAK RESULTS FOR UFC SAC-TOWN!!! Get your picks in for UFC Shanghai!<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Reinier de Ridder came through for lots of folks here. The biggest villain this past weekend was Lerryan Douglas, who broke a handful of streaks.<\/p>\n

Carli Judice’s win broke records here, though. That allowed Action Man to secure the first ever streak over 10. He is at 11 now, with Mildoggy Man just behind him.<\/p>\n

We are off to China this weekend. Here’s what we’re looking at:<\/p>\n

UFC Shanghai Main Event on Paramount+<\/a>:<\/p>\n

135 lbs.: Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Yadong Song<\/p>\n

UFC Shanghai Main Card on Paramount+<\/a> (6 a.m. ET):<\/p>\n

115 lbs.: Xiaonan Yan vs. Denise Gomes
135 lbs.: Aoriqileng vs. Kai Asakura
125 lbs.: Alex Perez vs. Sumudaerji
205 lbs.: Levi Rodrigues Jr. vs. Ce Liu
125 lbs.: Bilal Hasan vs. Nilson Rojas<\/p>\n

UFC Shanghai Prelims Card on Paramount+<\/a> (3 a.m. ET):<\/p>\n

125 lbs.: Andr\u00e9 Lima vs. Namsrai Batbayar
125 lbs.: Rei Tsuruya vs. Kevin Borjas
135 lbs.: Long Xiao vs. Francesco Nuzzi
145 lbs.: Jack Jenkins vs. Sean Woodson
135 lbs.: Lawrence Lui vs. Hector Santiago
115 lbs.: Jingnan Xiong vs. Julia Polastri
170 lbs.: Meng Ding vs. Cam Nelson<\/p>\n

This is a tough one. I’ll take groin shot extraordinaire Xiao Long! <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Rec 2CommentsThin Stroke Comment Icon BubbleReplyRead 16 replies<\/p>\n

UFC Shanghai Main Card Money Line Odds<\/p>\n

\"Umar<\/a><\/p>\n

Umar Nurmagomedov has a road game at UFC Shanghai. Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Umar Nurmagomedov (-500) vs. Song Yadong (+300)<\/p>\n

Nurmagomedov has looked flawless since failing to wrest the UFC Bantamweight title from Merab Dvalishvili in January 2025. Since that unanimous decision loss (where he gave Dvalishvili plenty of problems), Nurmagomedov has dominated Mario Bautista and Deiveson Figueiredo for unanimous decision wins. He had been booked to fight David Martinez in July, but that was scrapped due to an injury to Martinez.<\/p>\n

Song has been inconsistent over the past few years. He looked good in his last fight, submitting Figueiredo at May\u2019s UFC Macau card (see it here<\/a>). That was Song\u2019s first submission win since his 2017 UFC debut. Before beating the former Flyweight champ, Song lost a decision to former Bantamweight champ Sean O\u2019Malley. And before that he beat former Flyweight and Bantamweight champ Henry Cejudo. That was a weird one, though, with the decision being given to Song after an eye poke brought the bout to an early close. The fight only went long enough for a decision because referee Jason Herzog convinced a blinded Cejudo to stay in the fight.<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m finding it very hard to build a case for Song in this fight. It feels painfully obvious that Nurmagmedov is going to take him down, on repeat, and spend minutes at a time in top position. Song\u2019s takedown defense is 73 percent, which is pretty good. But Nurmagomedov is one of the best takedown artists in the game.<\/p>\n

And I don\u2019t think Nurmagomedov is going to have much trouble taking Song down. Song has looked predictable and one-dimensional, to the point of being monotonous, in some of his recent fights. I think the tape on him, and what he shows early on, will make things pretty easy for Team Khabib to design takedown entries and finishes that will work well for them.<\/p>\n

The big question, for me then, is whether this is a five round domination or whether we see Nurmagomedov convert all his ground control into a submission. Nurmagomedov has favored position over submission throughout his career. 63 percent of his UFC wins are decision. That\u2019s a big reason why there\u2019s not been much enthusiasm for him getting title shots over the years. At 30, this might be a make or break time for him, though. He might need to start being more aggressive looking for finishes to both get himself another shot and possibly the belt.<\/p>\n

Will this fight be a sign of this change?<\/p>\n

The bookies don\u2019t think so. They have this going long. The round total is 4.5 and the over is -245! Fight To Go The Distance is just -225, too.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to see Nurmagomedov be more aggressive and sacrifice safety on the ground for a big finish. But I just don\u2019t know if he has it in him. And also, let\u2019s not forget, that Song has never been submitted. The only time he was finished in UFC was due to a cut suffered against Cory Sandhagen.<\/p>\n

Nurmagomedov by decision is -170 and that\u2019s a pretty solid bet. You can also get Nurmagomedov -5.5 at -145. Against Figueiredo and Bautista he won 30-27 on all scorecards. And he got a 50-45 and two 49-46s over Sandhagen. That 5.5 feels like a pretty small number compared to that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll take the point spread and that covers me just in case Nurmagomedov switches up his style and hunts for a finish.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Umar Nurmagomedov -5.5 (-145)<\/p>\n

\"Denise<\/a><\/p>\n

Denise Gomes gets her first co-main event at UFC Shanghai. Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Yan Xiaonan (-155) vs. Denise Gomes (+130)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a year and six months since Yan last fought. That was the lopsided unanimous decision loss to Virna Jandiroba. That dropped her UFC record to 9-4. The 37-year-old is best known for her wins over Mackenzie Dern and Jessica Andrade (by TKO) to set up a title fight with her compatriot Zhang Weili. Yan looked a level, or two, below Zhang in that title fight, losing 49-45 across the scorecards.<\/p>\n

Gomes might have some revenge on her mind in this fight. She\u2019s one of Andrade\u2019s proteges. The 26-year-old has been knocking girls silly since signing with UFC in 2022. She\u2019s 6-2 but has three KO\/TKOs wins and some pretty one-sided beatdowns. Her last win was back in November, against the veteran Tecia Pennington.<\/p>\n

Yan is trending down and Gomes is trending up, but \u2014 in my opinion \u2014 it\u2019s really up in the air whether they have passed each other on those trajectories. I feel Yan might still be a little too polished for Gomes right now, despite her advanced age. Yan is also extremely tough and durable, as demonstrated by lasting five round with Zhang despite absorbing 106 sig. strikes (and surviving a 10-8 round). So I don\u2019t think Gomes\u2019 firepower will be unusual for Yan or something that\u2019s able to stop her.<\/p>\n

If Yan isn\u2019t going down, then I have question marks over whether Gomes can win a decision over her. I think this is going to be a decent and fairly competitive kickboxing match, but I think Yan will look like the more polished fighter throughout. And that should carve out a decision for her.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Yan Xiaonan moneyline (-155)<\/p>\n

\"Tim<\/a>\"MMA\"Kai<\/a><\/p>\n

Kai Asakura looks for his second UFC win at UFC Shanghai. Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Aoriqileng (+340) vs. Kai Asakura (-440)<\/p>\n

Aoriqileng was beat-up by Cody Haddon during the promotion\u2019s last trip to China. He was finished in part due to a brutal knee to the body (see it here<\/a>). Prior to that \u2018The Mongolian Murderer\u2019 finished Cody Gibson in just 21 seconds (see that here<\/a>). Aoriqileng has also fought Cody Durden, losing a decision back in 2021. He\u2019s now 4-5 and 1 NC in UFC action.<\/p>\n

Former RIZIN Bantamweight champion Asakura was signed to UFC as a Flyweight title challenger (despite never making that weight since 2017). That didn\u2019t go very well for him. Alexandre Pantoja mopped the floor with him and got the submission in the second round (see it here<\/a>). Asakura\u2019s lack of grappling was exposed by Tim Elliott in his next fight, which he also lost by second round submission (see it here<\/a>). UFC then booked him at Bantamweight against a striker (Cameron Smotherman) and Asakura delivered a first round KO (see it here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Aoriqileng has over-performed in the past, but I\u2019m a little worried for him here. Asakura is an incredibly dynamic striker, especially when he\u2019s not drained by a cut to Flyweight. Aoriqileng is the better wrestler than him (hell, I might be a better wrestler than him), but he\u2019s not so good that his wrestling can change the fight before Asakura gets a chance to get his licks in. Aoriqileng only lands 1.11 takedowns per fifteen minutes and his accuracy is a so-so 46 percent.<\/p>\n

So I think Asakura is going to spark out Aoriqileng in this one and I think it might happen quickly (since Aoriqileng has a less than average sig. striking defense at 46 percent and he absorbs a whopping 5.66 sig. strikes a minute).<\/p>\n

The round total on this one is 2.5 and I think that\u2019s nuts. Give me the under.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Under 2.5 rounds (-220)<\/p>\n

\"Sumudaerji<\/a><\/p>\n

Sumudaerji and Alex Perez run it back at UFC Shanghai. Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Alex Perez (+190) vs. Sumudaerji (-230)<\/p>\n

This is a do-over for the last fight these guys tried to have, in Macau in May. That fight got into the second round before Sumudaerji hit Perez with a devastating groin shot<\/a>. That was very painful to watch, as was Perez squirming for five solid minutes before the fight was called.<\/p>\n

This was just another chapter in a very weird recent career for Perez. In April 2024, he appeared to turn a corner on his career with a right hook KO over Matheus Nicolau (see it here<\/a>). That was his debut main event and he was a slight underdog. He was then quickly matched up with the ascending Tatsuro Taira. He lost that fight after Taira twisted during a standing back mount to intentionally destabilize Perez. The twist resulted in Perez blowing out his ACL. The surgery and recovery that followed kept him out for well over a year. He returned with a fight against Asu Almabayev. He was winning that fight (as an underdog) before getting guillotined in the third round. After that he fought Charles Johnson, again as an underdog, and he knocked Johnson out cold in the first round (see it here<\/a>). The no contest with Sumudaerji came five months after that.<\/p>\n

Sumudaerji\u2019s past few years have been far less dramatic. He lost a decision to Johnson in 2024, but then won three straight. All those were decisions, over Mitch Raposo, Kevin Borjas and Jesus Aguilar.<\/p>\n

In their aborted first fight, Perez found it tough to get past Sumudaerji\u2019s long reach advantage. He tried to crash through and land combos, but Sumadaerji rather easily stepped out to the side and stayed out of range. Sumadaerji dropped Perez with a counter early in the second. He wasn\u2019t able to get much going on the ground after that, but Perez was saved by an odd decision from the referee to let him stand up. The big groin kick that ended the fight happened soon after.<\/p>\n

Sumudaerji was trending towards a win in that fight. So it makes sense to take him again here.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Sumudaerji moneyline (-230)<\/p>\n

\"Bilal<\/a><\/p>\n

Bilal Hasan heads to UFC Shanghai after winning on Contender Series. Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Bilal Hasan (-650) vs. Nilson Rojas (+470)<\/p>\n

Hasan made a big splash on Contender Series two weeks ago, scoring a 45 second TKO. He\u2019s a former CFFC Flyweight champion. He\u2019s 9-0 and only 25 years-old.<\/p>\n

Rojas makes the long trip to China from Peru. He\u2019s one of a number of fighters on this card to never feature on UFC feeder products. He\u2019s 27 and also 9-0. He\u2019s never fought outside of Peru. He had a long amateur career, which included a loss to Kevin Borjas.<\/p>\n

This matchmaking is really making me scratch my head. UFC has a massive roster of fighters, including perhaps a majority on very affordable Contender Series contracts. Why are they bringing in guys off low level regional circuits to fill up these cards? Are they that cheap? Or are they simply hunting for viral KOs that can make waves on TikTok?<\/p>\n

This fight feels designed to open up the main card with one of those viral moments. Hasan looked dynamite on Contender Series, albeit against a can who might have been brought in as fodder to generate yet another viral finish.<\/p>\n

Not everything goes to plan for UFC (I just watched Bella Mir get pasted<\/a>). But I think Hasan is going to do what\u2019s expected of him in this slot.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Under 1.5 rounds (+120)<\/p>\n

\"Levi<\/a><\/p>\n

Levi Rodrigues Jr. will hope UFC Shanghai goes better than his debut fight. Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Liu Ce (-192) vs. Levi Rodrigues Jr. (+160)<\/p>\n

Rodrigues Jr. made his proper UFC debut in July and lost, while a favorite, against Felipe Franco. He lost that bout by second round TKO. That was the first loss of his career. He had to wait a long time for that moment, too. He won on Contender Series last October, but had to serve a NSAC suspension for a positive test for nandrolone metabolites.<\/p>\n

Liu is just 3-1 in MMA, with most of his combat sports action coming in the kickboxing ring. He\u2019s got a number of kickboxing wins by leg kick TKO. He\u2019s a massive guy, too. He\u2019s 6\u20195\u201d with a near 78 inch reach. I\u2019m hoping he turns out to be as fun as all that might suggest. I\u2019ll take him here, despite the lack of intel, since Rodrigues was such a dud last time out.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Liu Ce moneyline (-192)<\/p>\n

UFC Shanghai \u2018Prelims\u2019 Under Card Odds<\/p>\n

\"Andre<\/a><\/p>\n

Andre Lima will try to rebound from an upset at UFC Shanghai. Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Andre Lima (-245) vs. Namsrai Batbayar (+200)<\/p>\n

Lima looked mediocre in his loss to Kevin Borjas in August. He came into that one as the huge -770 favorite and as one of the few undefeated fighters in UFC. That was his first fight in more than one year. His 4-0 start to UFC life included wins over Daniel Barez, Felipe dos Santos and Mitch Raposo.<\/p>\n

Batbayer, meanwhile, is coming off this year\u2019s Road to UFC season. He\u2019s 3-0 in those bouts with two TKOs and a submission. He\u2019s 10-1 as a professional. The loss was to fellow Road to UFC grad, Nyamjargal Tumendemberel.<\/p>\n

At times, Lima has looked like a dark horse Flyweight contender. But, against Borjas he was stiff, predictable and just seemed off his game. I\u2019m not sure how much stock I should put in that performance against what we saw him do in the past fights, albeit against mostly opponents who have left UFC.<\/p>\n

Batbayar looks like an interesting prospect, with plenty of pop in his striking and some good wrestling to use in case of emergencies. Though his striking is powerful, it\u2019s very loopy. He\u2019s not a clean striker who fires straight punches down the pipe (like Lima can). And his level of competition has been considerably lower than Lima\u2019s (even if Lima\u2019s schedule leaves a lot to be desired).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll take Lima here. But I won\u2019t be surprised if Batabayar gets the upset, by showing Ramazan Temirov levels of violence.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Andre Lima moneyline (-245)<\/p>\n

\"Rei<\/a><\/p>\n

Rei Tsuruya features in a grappler vs. striker match-up at UFC Shanghai. Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Rei Tsuruya (-650) vs. Kevin Borjas (+470)<\/p>\n

Tsuruya looked superb when he schooled and submitted Luis Gurule in May. That was his first fight after a year on the sidelines. Prior to that hiatus, he lost a lopsided decision to future champion Joshua Van. His only other UFC appearance (outside of winning Road to UFC in 2024) is a decision over Carlos Hernandez.<\/p>\n

Before Borjas scored his big upset over Andre Lima, the Peruvian was on a two fight losing skid with a TKO loss to Imanol Rodriguez (see it here<\/a>) and a decision to Sumudaerji. He\u2019s now 2-4 in UFC. His two other losses are to Alessandro Costa and Joshua Van, though.<\/p>\n

You really don\u2019t know what you\u2019re going to get with Borjas. Sometimes he looks like he\u2019s put it all together and is capable of mixing up his game with slick boxing and serviceable wrestling and sometimes he seems rash and sloppy. It\u2019s imperative for him to stay on his feet against Tsuruya. Tsuruya\u2019s ground game is extremely dangerous. In the past, it was sometimes too pretty to be effective. But against Gurule he shelved a lot of his overly complicated moves to just hunt down what had the best chance of success. I expect he will do the same if he gets Borjas down and that he\u2019ll be able to find a submission there.<\/p>\n

Borjas has a good 72 percent takedown defense on paper. The context around that number is impressive, too. He shut out Lima, Sumudaerji and Costa, who went for a combined seven takedowns against him.<\/p>\n

Tsuruya took down Gurule once in their fight and that\u2019s all he needed. He attempted three takedowns in the bout. In his loss against Van he went 4-21 on takedowns, which is why his career takedown accuracy is a paltry 34 percent. After what we saw Van do opposite Tatsuro Taira, though, I think we can chalk that up to being an early sign of Van\u2019s brilliance and not a deficiency on the part of Tsuruya.<\/p>\n

With the odds as they are, I\u2019m going to take a chance on the good Kevin Borjas showing up in Shanghai and him being good enough to stay on his feet long enough to avoid an early submission.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Over 2.5 rounds (+110)<\/p>\n

Betting on sports involves risk, so please only wager amounts you can afford to lose. If you or someone you know if struggling with gambling help can be found with the organizations listed below:<\/p>\n

USA: National Problem Gambling Helpline \u2014 Call or text 1-800-GAMBLER to receive support and learn about available services.UK: GamCare – Call 0808 8020 133 to speak to an advisor about gambling (or visit gamecare.org.uk for live chat and forum options).Canada: Visit responsiblegambling.org for resources on helplines in Canada\u2019s various provinces and territories.Australia\/New Zealand: National Gambling Helpline \u2014 Call (800) 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.\"Hopefully<\/a><\/p>\n

Hopefully Xiao Long\u2019s fight at UFC Shanghai won\u2019t be as controversial as his last fight. Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Long Xiao (-180) vs. Franceso Nuzzi (+150)<\/p>\n

Long had a very weird fight with Cody Garbrandt in March. He nailed Garbrandt with a groin shot<\/a> in that fight, which was hard enough to make the former champ throw up. Long was deducted two whole points for that (it wasn\u2019t his first foul of the bout). Despite the two point deduction, many onlookers still scored the fight for Long (believing he\u2019d won all three rounds). Long is now 1-3 in UFC, having lost to Su Young You and Chang Ho Lee, as well (both fights where he had the wrestling disadvantage).<\/p>\n

Nuzzi comes over to UFC after a long stint in the PFL\/Bellator orbit. He had more fights fall through than not during that time, though. Most recently he fought in Cage Warriors. His last fight was a no contest after\u2026 guess what? He landed a terrible groin shot on Manoel Silva.<\/p>\n

Nuzzi has a classic Muay Thai style. He\u2019s got a very fast release on his strikes (especially his kicks). He has very hard low kicks, too. I think he\u2019s going to give Long a close fight in Shanghai.<\/p>\n

Long fights more square footed and his unpredictable and wild style has been a bit of a blessing and a curse for him. He does fight with a lot of personality and grit, though. And I think he might be physically stronger than Nuzzi (who is a little sleight).<\/p>\n

For this fight, I\u2019m picking the cleaner technique, though. That\u2019s what I see from Nuzzi. I think his leg kicks will slow Long down and make him an easy target.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Francesco Nuzzi moneyline (+150)<\/p>\n

\"Jack<\/a><\/p>\n

Jack Jenkins returns at UFC Shanghai. Ed Mulholland\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Jack Jenkins (+124) vs. Sean Woodson (-148)<\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t seen Jenkins since he took a unanimous decision over Ramon Tavares last September. Before that he was submitted by Gabriel Santos (see it here<\/a>). He\u2019s 4-2 in UFC, which includes an impressive stoppages over Herbert Burns (see it here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Woodson has been out even longer than Jenkins. His last fight was in April, 2025. That\u2019s when he lost, by TKO, to Dan Ige. The finish was a tad early, though (see it here<\/a>). That broke a seven fight undefeated streak for him. His best win is probably his flying knee finish on Terrance McKinney to earn his contract back on Contender Series in 2019.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m happy to see Jenkins back in action. I really enjoy his boxing (especially his body work) and he has some really nasty low kicks. I\u2019m not thrilled to see Woodson back. I don\u2019t particularly enjoy Woodson\u2019s rangy high volume and low power striking game. I think Woodson probably wins this one, though.<\/p>\n

Woodson will have a ridiculous ten inch reach advantage. He\u2019s also much taller. Woodson\u2019s outside game will be very easy for him to implement with that kind of size and reach advantage. And he\u2019s going to be able to pop Jenkins in the nose every time Jenkins throws one of his leg kicks.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Sean Woodson moneyline (-148)<\/p>\n

\"Lawrence<\/a><\/p>\n

Lawrence Lui gets his second UFC booking at UFC Shanghai. Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Lawrence Lui (-305) vs. Hector Santiago (+245)<\/p>\n

Lui capped his Road to UFC run with a spirited split decision win over Sulangrangbo at UFC 325 in January. He was a +230 underdog in that fight. The Australian is now 8-1 and on a five fight winning streak.<\/p>\n

Santiago is a total UFC newcomer with no appearances on Contender Series, TUF, etc. He\u2019s fought in LFA, Karate Combat and Jungle Fight. He\u2019s also done some boxing and kickboxing. He\u2019s 6-1 in MMA with all but one win coming via strikes.<\/p>\n

Lui\u2019s wrestling looked good in his Road to UFC finale, getting seven takedowns on fifteen attempts. His striking wasn\u2019t amazing, though, with him landing just 52 of 150 sig. strikes (just 34 percent).<\/p>\n

Santiago hangs his hat on his striking and it looks pretty clean based on what I\u2019ve seen. He throws mean knees to the body. I haven\u2019t gotten the chance to see what his takedown defense is like. But, even so, I think his above average striking might be more threatening in this bout than Lui\u2019s average wrestling (especially if Lui can\u2019t find his target with his strikes).<\/p>\n

Best bet: Hector Santiago moneyline (+250)<\/p>\n

\"Jingnan<\/a><\/p>\n

Jingnan Xiong will try and show some improvement at UFC Shanghai after a disappointing debut. Eduardo Leal \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Jingnan Xiong (+205) vs. Julia Polastri (-250)<\/p>\n

The Panda Xiong came into UFC with a lot of fanfare, due to her long title reign in ONE Championship (and wins over Angela Lee). But she failed to produce in her debut, losing to Angela Hill (while not looking very special). The 38 year-old is 19-3 in her career.<\/p>\n

Polastri dropped a decision to Talita Alencar in April. That loss ruined the momentum she had after her total destruction of former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz in October. She earned a Performance of the Night bonus for that TKO (see it here<\/a>). She\u2019s now 2-3 in UFC.<\/p>\n

I was high on Xiong when she appeared in UFC, but her debut was very disappointing. At 38 she looks a long way from her top ONE Championship days. I think there\u2019s a great chance Polastri gets the win here.<\/p>\n

Polastri is a front-runner who seems to lose heart if she gets off to a bad start, especially if she\u2019s not winning the wrestling battles. Xiong is a pure striker, so Polastri should get some space and time to warm-up with her striking and perhaps even implement her own wrestling. Because of that, I don\u2019t think she\u2019ll get demoralized and fade like I\u2019ve seen in some fights.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Julia Polastri moneyline (-250)<\/p>\n

\"Meng<\/a><\/p>\n

Meng Ding will have lots of support at UFC Shanghai. Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n

Meng Ding (-148) vs. Cam Nelson (+124)<\/p>\n

Meng lost a split decision to Jose Souza in his debut in May. He showed some heart and toughness in that bout against Souza (who almost threw the fight away by hot-dogging it). The 31-year-old Meng is now 35-10 as a pro with a career that stretches back to 2015.<\/p>\n

Nelson comes right out of the regional scene for this one. The 28-year-old Canadian is 7-1 and has never appeared on a ZUFFA owned property. He won the Fight League Atlantic welterweight title in his last fight, with a second round TKO. He\u2019s fought his entire career inside that promotion.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s not a lot of tape on Nelson, but I\u2019m not that impressed by the few bits and pieces I\u2019ve seen. He\u2019s an aggressive guy who runs down opponents, but leaves himself pretty open for counters. He was dropped in a fight he was totally dominating because of that.<\/p>\n

Meng has been very competitive in both his UFC debut and Contender Series fights and has been willing to brawl. Though he looks more technical than what I\u2019ve seen from Nelson. I think he might be able to connect on the counter and earn his first UFC win.<\/p>\n

Best bet: Meng Ding moneyline (-148)<\/p>\n

\"Will<\/a><\/p>\n

Will RoboCop get his hand raised at UFC Sacramento? Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a couple of long shots for Saturday\u2019s action …<\/p>\n

Umar Nurmagomedov by submission (+400)<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a huge chance of this happening, but this is why it\u2019s in the long shot section. I think Nurmagomedov is going to be spending about fifteen minutes on top of Song in this fight. So there\u2019s a great chance that turns into a submission, especially if Song gets frustrated and leaves himself open.<\/p>\n

Three Fight Parlay: Aoriqileng vs. Asakura Under 2.5, Liu vs. Rodrigues Jr Under 1.5, Hasan vs. Rojas Under 1.5 (+372)<\/p>\n

These are all fun fights with some bona fide KO artists. The total on Aoriqileng and Asakura feels too high for me and I can see the other fights ending in the first round, too (especially since I think UFC is trying to architect that happening more and more).<\/p>\n

Namsrai Batbayer to win by KO\/TKO\/DQ (+600)<\/p>\n

I compared Batbayer to Ramazan Temirov up top. I don\u2019t know if that will prove to be true, but he hits like a truck and isn\u2019t afraid to swing. Maybe he makes a mark on Saturday and takes out a formerly highly considered Flyweight.<\/p>\n

\"Jesse<\/a>\"MMATo checkout the latest and greatest UFC Shanghai: \u201cNurmagomedov vs. Song\u201d news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UFC Shanghai happens this weekend (Sat., Aug. 29, 2026) inside Shanghai Oriental Center in Shanghai, China, streaming live…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":869928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,40762,785,85,1396,179146,19458,19457,7990],"class_list":["post-869927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-latest-ufc-mma-news","tag-mma","tag-sports","tag-ufc-news","tag-ufc-on-paramount","tag-ufc-odds","tag-ufc-predictions","tag-ufc-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}