The UFC’s latest trip Asia comes with another early start for us in North America. I’m not complaining, though. I love these events being all wrapped up before noon.
The main event for this one sees two Bantamweights coming off losses to contenders. Song Yadong could not find a way past Sean O’Malley’s striking when they met in January. And Deiveson Figueiredo was powerless to stop Umar Nurmagomedov’s pressure wrestling game. They’ll meet today, but a win will still leave them pretty far back in the title fight pecking order.
The co-main event gives Zhang Mingyang a shot at redemption. Last year he was given a lay-up in Shanghai in the form of Johnny Walker. However, ‘The Mountain Tiger’ couldn’t convert and was beaten by a shock second round TKO. He’s been served up Alonzo Menifield this time, with UFC seemingly really wanting a heavier weight Chinese star to further develop this market.
Rounding out our main card today is Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tallison Teixeira, Kai Asakura vs. Cameron Smotherman, Jake Matthews vs. Carlston Harris and Alex Perez vs. Sumudaerji. A lot of those guys are firmly stuck in the shadows, in their respective divisions, so they’ll be hoping for a big flashy win under the bright lights of the oyster city.
The “”Prelims” are headlined by Yi Sak Lee vs. Luis Dias de Assis. The undercard has lots of Contender Series and Road to UFC grads, as well as some guys pulled right off the regional scene. The biggest name on the “Prelims” is Angela Hill, she meets former ONE champ Xiong Jingnan.
UFC Macau Start Date and Time
Set your alarms, folks! We’ve got another early start time for you today. UFC Macau is happening at prime time for fans in Asia, so those of us in North American will need to be up very early to watch the whole thing. Here are the start times:
The live blog here starts rolling below at 4 a.m. ET. Come in and say hi!
UFC MACAU PLAY-BY-PLAY UPDATES
Zhu Kangjie vs. Rodrigo Vera: Kangjie started well, buoyed by the crowd. He landed some hard shots, but that prompted Vera to go to his wrestling early. He got a takedown and stopped some of Kangjie’s momentum. After Kangjie was up Vera dropped him with a left hook and then finished him on the ground.
Official decision: Rodrigo Vera def. Zhu Kangjie by TKO (punches), round 1 (1:15)
Loma Lookboonmee vs. Jaqueline Amorim: The night starts with a possible broken limb. Lookboonmee was doing nice work in the clinch, but Amorim got out of that position by rolling for a leg lock. On the ground she transitioned to arm attacks and eventually found an angle to hyper-extend Lookboonmee’s arm.
Official decision: Jaqueline Amorim def. Loma Lookboonmee by technical submission (armbar), round 1 (4:04)
Live stream begins at 4 a.m. ET. ..