UFC athletes arrive Beijing ahead of fight night slated for November 24

The number 3-ranked American, Blaydes will be facing rising star, Francis Ngannou (11-3, fighting out of Las Vegas, USA inside the world-famous Octagon®. This is a highly anticipated rematch between two of the division’s heaviest hitters, their unfinished business is set to thrill fans inside the Cadillac Arena.

Both athletes are looking to impress the crowd and UFC Executives as they strive to be next in line for a championship title shot.

In addition to Blaydes, there were many of China’s top UFC athletes in attendance today who spoke with fans and media about what the upcoming event means to them. China’s most successful MMA athlete and local hometown hero, Li Jingliang “The Leech” (15-5, fighting out of Beijing, China) joined Blaydes on stage.

Leech took the opportunity to express how UFC Fight Night Beijing is a dream come true and talked of his hopes for participating in the event in front of his friends and family. Other local athletes present today included women’s UFC flyweight Yanan Wu “Mulan” (9-2, fighting out of Liaoning, China),Song Kenan (13-3, fighting out of Beijing, China) and Zhang Weili (17-1, fighting out of Beijing, China). “Oursell out debut event in Shanghai last November has just been voted the best MMA event in Asia of 2017/2018, this is a fantastic achievement and one that would not be possible without the support of our passionate fans and valued partners.

” UFC Vice President of Asia Pacific Kevin Chang said. “We’re already building on this success with the upcoming debut UFC event in Beijing this November. Fans can expect to experience another enthralling night of premium MMA.”

Once again, UFC in conjunction with Sina Sports will be searching for this year’s Octagon Girl as a nationwide search, presented by Monster Energy, launchestoday. Last year, the search attracted over 800 hopefuls with Wang Jing Jing from Beijing and Pan Xiao from Suzhou being crowned the first UFC Octagon Girls from China.

This year’s successful candidate will earn a contract for UFC FIGHT NIGHT® BEIJING: BLAYDES vs. NGANNOU, Presented by General Tire along with Filipina Red Dela Cruz. Fan favourite Cruz recently won Ring Girl of the Year at the Asia MMA Awards. UFC is working together with Endeavor China, a subsidiary of Endeavor, to deliver the live event again this year.

“Endeavor China is excited to once again bring UFC, the world’s premier professional MMA organization, to fans in China. After last year’s overwhelmingly successful event in Shanghai, we are happy to announce that this year’s UFC Fight Night event will take place in the country’s capital city, Beijing,” said David He, Vice President of Music & Live Entertainment, Endeavor China.

He continued, “We are also excited to work with Damai Sports to promote this event to a wider range of fanbase. ” Damai Sports has officially become the co-promoter of this Beijing event which is also supported by China Boxing Federation. Fans in China will be given a night to remember as the heavyweight starslead an international card of skilled mixed martial artists.

Each athlete will demonstrate their abilities and eagerness to impress the Beijing crowd and UFC fans around the world. UFC FIGHT NIGHT® BEIJING: NGANNOU vs. BLAYDES, Presented by General Tire also includes the following matchups.

Bouts are subject to change:  Chinese light heavyweight prospect Yaozhong Hu (3-1, fighting out of Beijing, China) meets knockout artist Rashad Coulter (8-4, fighting out of Dallas, USA)  In a women’s flyweight showdown, well-rounded Yanan Wu (9-2, fighting out of Xi’an, China) faces Shana Dobson (3-3, fighting out of Fort Worth, USA)  Yan Xiaonan (9-1, fighting out of Beijing, China) will meet Japan’s Syuri Kondo (6-1, fighting out of Tokyo, Japan) in a women’s strawweight match-up