UFC returned to mainland China with a Fight Night card in Shanghai that produced multiple explosive finishes. Company officials replaced the Fight of the Night bonus with Performance of the Night awards, each worth $50,000 for the event. Johnny Walker endured heavy offense from Zhang Mingyang before finishing with a TKO after a damaging leg kick in the second round. The victory marked Walker's first win since May 2023 and his first fight and win of 2025. Kyle Daukaus knocked out Michel Pereira inside a minute on the prelims. Charles Johnson scored a knockout, and Uran Satybaldiev secured an Ezekiel choke submission.
The Fight Night card, marking the promotion's return to mainland China, produced some explosive action, enough so that company officials ditched the Fight of the Night bonus, and instead handed out for Performance of the Night awards following the event. The bonuses (for now, though they are expected to rise with the onset of the Paramount+ broadcast deal in 2026) stand at $50,000 U.S.
Among the winners, headliner Johnny Walker, who weathered some heavy offense from China's own Zhang Mingyang in the night's main event. Mingyang appeared to have hurt Walker on several occasions, but a leg kick, several in fact, felled the Chinese light heavyweight in the second round. With Mingyang down and vulnerable, Walker piled on for the TKO finish.
Walker's first fight, and win of 2025 was also his first victory since May of 2023. Kyle Daukaus was fighting in the UFC for the first time since 2022 when he faced Michel Pereira in a middleweight battle on the UFC Shanghai preliminary card. An odd placement for such a high-profile fight, and it was Daukaus earning a knockout finish inside of a minute, though Pereira would briefly protest.
Collection
[
|
...
]