The UFC has announced it will stage an eight-man tournament across four men’s weight classes later this year, in the hope of signing new Asian talent.
The “Road to the UFC” initiative will start on June 9 and June 10, and will take place at Singapore Indoor Stadium. The UFC is hosting a pay-per-view event, UFC 275, on June 11 in the same venue. The tournament will air on the UFC’s streaming service, Fight Pass. UFC 275 airs on ESPN+.
The promotion has not yet revealed any contestants, but athletes are expected to come from Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, India and the UFC Academy in China. The UFC opened a Performance Institute in China in 2017.
The four featured weight classes include flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight. Each tournament winner will receive a UFC contract.
Additional details, including future event sites, will be released at a later date. Admission is free for the live events.
A light heavyweight title fight between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka is slated to headline UFC 275.