Fight Coverage
Fighters on the Rise | UFC Shanghai
Three Fresh-Faced Flyweights Step Into The Spotlight As UFC Returns To Shanghai For UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs Song
For more than a year now, the flyweight division has stood out as the most consistently entertaining weight class in the UFC while simultaneously cultivating an impressive array of dynamic, young talent poised to keep the division going for years to come.
Lead by Joshua Van, the youngest of all the current champions and second-youngest fighter to ever claim UFC gold, the 125-pound ranks boast the greatest percentage of rostered athletes under 30 years old with 37-percent of the division still yet to celebrate that milestone birthday.
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That youth is front and center this weekend in Shanghai at Oriental Sports Center aiming to show out, including a recent Dana White’s Contender Series grad and a pair of Road to UFC tournament winners.
Here’s a closer look at this week’s Fighters on the Rise.
Bilal Hasan
Proving you can have both style and substance, Bilal Hasan rolled into the first week of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10 with a ton of hype and swagger before promptly finishing Mridul Saikia in 45 seconds to claim a spot on the UFC roster.
Bilal Hasan Maximizes The Spotlight, Earns UFC Contract With Stellar Finish | DWCS Highlights
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Bilal Hasan Maximizes The Spotlight, Earns UFC Contract With Stellar Finish | DWCS Highlights
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The 25-year-old “IndoNinja” has won eight straight (all stoppages) since his second pro appearance was halted in seven seconds and deemed a no contest. What adds to the anticipation for Hasan’s UFC debut this weekend is that he logged all but one of his first 10 bouts — that no contest fight — under the CFFC banner, facing solid competition in the standout New Jersey-based promotion.
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Just the second fighter from Indonesia to secure a UFC contract, Hasan also carries Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson’s stamp of approval as the Everett, Washington-based flyweight has trained alongside the recent UFC Hall of Fame inductee numerous times in the past.
Saturday, he faces off with fellow debutant Nilson Rojas, who also brings a 9-0 record to Shanghai. Although he could certainly make me eat my words, Rojas hasn’t faced the same level of competition as Hasan on his way up the ranks while fighting in a host of smaller South American promotions.
While he’s handled business every time out and secured finishes in seven of his nine wins, he rightfully enters as a decided underdog this weekend.
READ: Bilal Hasan Is Here To Impress And Enjoy The Journey Along The Way
This is without question a showcase opportunity for Hasan as he looks to out-shine fellow Week 1 grad Anthony Wint, who registered a submission win over Terrance Chatman in the first round of his promotional debut last weekend in Sacramento.
Namsrai Batbayar
If you’re looking for a spot in the bandwagon of a young, unheralded flyweight talent, may I suggest claiming a seat aboard the Namsrai Batbayar Express?
The 25-year-old Mongolian is 10-1 as a professional with a 100-percent finishing rate, with his lone loss coming against current UFC flyweight Nyamjargal Tumendemberel almost four years ago when Batbayar was just 21.
After scoring consecutive stoppage wins over Wataru Yamauchi and Agulali in his quarterfinal and semifinal bouts in the Season 4 Road to UFC flyweight tournament last year, the ascending “Steppe Warrior” showed no ill effect of having his finale bout shuffled back to May.
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Batbayar dominated Yin Shuai, needing less than two minutes to dispatch the far more experienced Chinese competitor to wrap up his dominant run through the RTU tournament. Now, he gets the opportunity to make an immediate impact in his new surroundings as he faces off with Contender Series grad Andre Lima on Saturday.
Lima is best remembered for being bitten by Igor Severino in his debut but followed that up with three additional wins over Mitch Raposo, Felipe dos Santos, and Daniel Barez to push his record to 11-0 before suffering the first loss of his career in June to Kevin Borjas.
A member of the emerging Team Lucas Minheiro, “Mascote” comes from a kickboxing base and will likely be looking to push a more than he did last time out, especially early, which should suit Batbayar just fine.
WATCH: Umar Nurmagomedov & Song Yadong Interview | UFC Shanghai
The depth of the division and wealth of young talent on the roster at the moment serves Batbayar well as he should have the chance to steadily work his way up the ranks. That being said, Lima is one fight removed from having a ton of momentum and buzz, so a big effort from the Danaa Batgerel protégé this weekend could expedite things going forward.
Rei Tsuruya
Generally speaking, I try not to double-up with fighters in this space too frequently throughout the year, but Tsuruya becomes the 10th competitor this year to get the back-to-back FOTR treatment ahead of his return to action in Macau.
Rei Tsuruya Submits Luis Gurule In The First | UFC Macau
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Rei Tsuruya Submits Luis Gurule In The First | UFC Macau
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The other nine athletes that have earned tandem shouts in 2026 have gone 17-1 combined so far, with Lerryan Douglas being the first to suffer a loss last weekend in Sacramento.
READ: Rei Tsuruya Is A Rising Prospect
The reason I’m double-dipping with Tsuruya is just because his first appearance of the year came on a similar overnight (in North America) fight card, and I think folks genuinely need to keep tabs on him because everything we saw prior to his lone loss screamed “rising star,” and his win in May affirmed that read.
Tsuruya dominated Luis Gurule, choking out the Contender Series grad in a little more than three minutes, stinging him with a left hand and using the moment to initiate a grappling entanglement that Gurule was never able to escape.
You can make the argument that “Grim” took the fight on short notice, flying to Macau and competing just two weeks after going three rounds with Daniel Barez and claiming his first UFC win, and I’ll listen, but it was one-way traffic the whole way through and my sense is that things wouldn’t have gone much differently even if Gurule was operating on full camp.
The 24-year-old, who traded his long hair for a close-cropped, bleached blonde look ahead of his last outing went the distance with the current champ Van at UFC 313 before being forced to the sidelines for 14 months, but showed no signs of rust in his return.
Now he’s making a relatively quick return in hopes of truly cementing his position as one of the brightest ascending talents on the roster.
UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs Song took place live from Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China on August 29, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!