Main Card
- Johnny Walker def. Zhang Mingyang via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:37)
- Aljamain Sterling def. Brian Ortega via Decision, Unanimous
- Sergei Pavlovich def. Waldo Cortes-Acosta via Decision, Unanimous
- Sumudaerji def. Kevin Borjas via Decision, Unanimous
- Taiyilake Nueraji def. Kiefer Crosbie via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:33)
Preliminary Card
- Gauge Young def. Maheshate via Decision, Unanimous
- Charles Johnson def. Lone’er Kavanagh via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:35)
- Rongzhu def. Austin Hubbard via Decision, Unanimous
- Kyle Daukaus def. Michel Pereira via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:43)
- Yizha def. Westin Wilson via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:37)
- You Su-young def. Xiao Long via Decision, Unanimous
- Uran Satybaldiev def. Diyar Nurgozhay via Submission, Ezekiel Choke (RD 1, 2:45)
One of China’s rising MMA stars suffered a massive defeat on Saturday at the hands of light heavyweight gatekeeper Johnny Walker.
Walker scored an upset second-round stoppage finish this weekend against Zhang Mingyang, giving the ranked Chinese star his first-ever UFC loss.
The 205-pound clash headlined a Fight Night card from the Shanghai Indoor Stadium in Shanghai, China. The event was UFC’s first mainland China event in over half a decade.
Leg kicks from Walker suddenly floored Zhang in the second round of their main event fight, causing a 180-degree change in the contest’s momentum. After looking every part of a +300 underdog for over five minutes, the knockdown, followed by a long series of ground and pound shots, earned Walker his first win since 2023.
The first round went like many had expected: Strongly in favor of the Chinese fighter. Zhang earned top control in the opening moments of the fight, reversing a surprising yet unsuccessful takedown attempt from Walker. Zhang stung Walker with strikes numerous times as the fight returned to the feet, proving to have effective boxing early.
13th-ranked Walker was coming back after a rough 2024, where he suffered back-to-back stoppage losses. After being finished by Magomed Ankalaev, who went on to capture light heavyweight gold just months later, Walker lasted just under half a round against Volkan Oezdemir in June 2024.
Walker called for a fight against former light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz in his post-fight interview.
Zhang made a name for himself over the past year and a half with stunning stoppage wins in the UFC cage. After getting scouted through the Road To UFC program, he has scored three consecutive performance bonuses since early 2024. His latest victory was a finish over the returning Anthony Smith in April.
Zhang is the perfect definition of an all-action fighter ever since his 2014 pro debut. The 27-year-old hasn’t escaped the first round in a large number of his two-dozen previous pro fights, with all 19 of his wins emerging via finish.
Zhang has previously shown that he can end a fight in devastating fashion. However, the setback he suffered on Saturday meant that he still has work to do before entering the top 10 at light heavyweight.
Aljamain Sterling takes five rounds over Brian Ortega
Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling cruised to a five-round unanimous decision win in the co-main event, earning a perfect unanimous 50-45 score to overcome 145-pound vet Brian Ortega.
Sterling worked at a slow pace through five rounds, out-landing a low-output Ortega throughout. After scoring the better shots through 15 minutes, Sterling started to mix takedowns into his fight later, adding more to his game as Ortega tried to up the intensity.
While successful for Sterling, the fight wasn’t one of the most eye-grabbing performances of the evening. Sterling seemed satisfied with going the distance, never pushing hard enough to put Ortega in trouble – a decision which left the live audience voicing their displeasure at times.
The “Funk Master” was bouncing back after losing a late-2024 fight to undefeated contender Movsar Evloev. He felt his performance on Saturday was enough to challenge featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.
“I would love the opportunity to fight for the belt again,” Sterling said.
The loss wrapped up a disastrous week for Ortega, who forced the scheduled featherweight contest to be moved up to a catchweight of 153 pounds after significant troubles on the scale. The two-time title challenger has now lost four of his last five since 2021, albeit against some of the 145-pound division’s top names, like Diego Lopes and Yair Rodriguez.
Charles Johnson, returning Kyle Daukaus among bonus winners
One of the bigger prelim headlines of the night emerged at flyweight, where veteran talent Charles Johnson snapped the undefeated streak of Lone’er Kavanagh with a right hook knockout in the second round. Past Cage Warriors stand-out Kavanagh has been one of the division’s most hyped prospects and was hoping to earn a third win in his rookie UFC year on Saturday.
Johnson, a fighter who has consistently faced the 125-pound division’s toughest names, entered as a moderate underdog. He’s now back to his winning ways following a loss earlier this year to former RIZIN star Ramazan Temirov.
Earlier in the night, Kyle Daukaus made an impressive return to the UFC cage, beating Michel Pereira in just 43 seconds after dropping him with a short right hook. Daukaus was cut from the UFC roster in late 2022 after a run of two wins and four losses. The Philadelphia-based fighter worked hard on the U.S. regionals to regain his spot, going on a run of four wins in the prominent promotion CFFC since 2023.
A performance bonus also went to ex-LFA champ Uran Satybaldiev, who pulled out the rarely-utilized Ezekiel Choke to earn his first-ever UFC win on Saturday. Satybaldiev tapped Diyar Nurgozhay in the first round with the submission, marking his first win in the promotion.
Satybaldiev had a raw deal in his UFC debut earlier this year, debuting up a class, heavyweight, and taking on an experienced fighter, Martin Buday, on short notice. After predictably losing that bout and his undefeated record in the process, he’s now back on track.
A bonus was awarded to Walker for his second-round finish in the main event.
