Athletes
Rongzhu | Finally Ready To Compete With The Best
Young Veteran Discusses Road Back To UFC Ahead Of First Start Of 2026
When Rongzhu made his first appearance inside the Octagon, he was only a handful of weeks removed from turning 21 years old. Although he began competing professionally at age 16 and had amassed a number of appearances, mostly under the WLF banner in his native China, the lightweight prospect just wasn’t ready, in all ways, to compete on the biggest stage in the sport.
While he’d 20 wins in 23 starts, finishing all but two of those opponents, the Enbo Fight Club product was still green when it came to his overall skill level and his ability to strategically work through a fight. He was a game competitor, but each trip into the Octagon followed the same script: move forward, sling hands, see what happens. He sandwiched a win between a pair of setbacks, but in a crowded division where new names are always at the ready, Rongzhu was released by the promotion nine days before his 22nd birthday.
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Fifteen months later, after earning a second-round stoppage win abroad, Rongzhu stood out as the most established name in the lightweight tournament on the second season of Road to UFC, and less than two years after being let go, a third-round submission win over Shin Haraguchi earned Rongzhu a second chance to compete in the UFC.
“Most of my fights before getting to the UFC were in China,” began the still just 26-year-old lightweight, who faces Victor Martinez in a lightweight matchup that serves as the final bout of Thursday’s opening Road to UFC event of the season. “That is fine, but I think my Road to UFC experience, fighting through the tournament, helped me a lot because I fought the best prospects from Asia, and I gained a lot of experience from that.”
Experience is the one thing in this sport that there is no substitute for, and as the young veteran alluded to, not all experience is the same.
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We see the same thing frequently in athletes who thrive on the regional circuit in their local markets or home nations: pristine records built against whoever the area has to offer, but the depth and breadth of talent doesn’t necessarily provide the full range of competition one needs to face in order to truly be ready to compete at the next level. It’s not a knock on the athletes — for the most part, the grassroots infrastructure of the sport is poorly constructed and operated — but it leaves them with a false sense of readiness.
For Rongzhu, it took that initial cup of coffee to see that being one of the top prospects in China didn’t mean he was primed to thrive in the biggest promotion in the sport, and even after successfully navigating the RTU lightweight tournament and returning to the Octagon, he recognized the need to surround himself with more experienced coaches and training partners in order to truly be able to compete at this level.
“It all started from (having) trained with one CKB coach before, so I kind of know CKB and their style a little bit,” he began when asked about his relationship with the team at City Kickboxing in Auckland, New Zealand, where he has prepared for his last three appearances. “After my first fight of my second UFC contract, I just decided to relocate myself to CKB. I had contact with the coach and he just introduced me to Eugene and the team at CKB.
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“I improved a lot; I think all you guys can see from my last two fights,” Rongzhu added with a smile, detailing the growth he’s experienced working with the elite squad that has produced UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Carlos Ulberg, as well as flyweight title challenger Kai Kara-France and perennial lightweight standout Dan Hooker. “I think the improvement is about all the areas of MMA — striking, grappling — but it’s not just the skill; I also improved how to read the fight, how to read my opponent. I think that’s the part I improved the most.”
Those improvements have indeed shown.
In his first bout back in the UFC, the Chinese lightweight landed on the wrong side of the results after his fight with Chris “Taco” Padilla was halted late in the second round after a well-placed elbow from Padilla caused Rongzhu’s left eye to swell closed. Prior to the fight being waved off, his approach was the same as in his initial tour with the promotion: forward pressure, fire off attacks, and hope for the best.
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But since connecting with City Kickboxing, there has been an appreciable increase in patience and discernment when it comes to engaging. While his bout with Kody Steele earned Fight of the Night honors as the two battled for all three rounds, Rongzhu won all three rounds, dictating the terms of engagement, landing the better strikes throughout, and forcing the combat jiu jitsu standout to fight on his terms. Six months later, against Austin Hubbard, it was more of the same.
“The secret is very simple: hard work,” he said when asked what has clicked these last two fights. “I worked extremely hard for those two camps while I trained at CKB.
“There are no shortcuts; just work as hard as you can. When I train at CKB, all the coaches help me, give me the guidance, and really focus on the details. Hard work with a great team is the secret.”
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And he’s hopeful that his secret approach will pay further dividends on Thursday.
“Yeah, the camp for this fight is the best I’ve had at CKB,” Rongzhu added. “I hope I can perform well, even better than my last two fights, and finish my opponent.”
UFC Fight Night: Song vs Figueiredo took place live from Galaxy Arena in Macao SAR, China on May 30, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!