Press Release: Thursday, November 15th 2012
With four places in the 2013 RMB 1,000,000 Super Fightstill up for grabs, the Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation (RUFF) is heading to WuTaiShan Stadium in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China on Saturday, December 22, for RUFF 7.
The final event before the Super Fight, RUFF 7 will feature four eliminator matches in the flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and light heavyweight divisions to determine who will fight at China’s first MMA national championship event.
Flyweights Shang ZhiFa and Zhang MeiXuan top the RUFF 7 fight card, and will battle for the right to face Liu PingYuan at the 2013 Super Fight.
Both Shang and Zhang currently own 2-1 records inside the RUFF cage, with their lone losses coming against Liu PingYuan via split decision. Shang previously defeated Amu RiJiRiGaLa via rear naked choke atRUFF 4 and Liu LianJie via unanimous decision at RUFF 5, while Zhang has wins over Amu, a tapout via heel hook at RUFF 6, and Liu PingYuan, a referee stoppage at RUFF: Genesis.
In the lightweight class, Guangzhou-based Thai fighter Arthit “A ting” Hanchana and Wu HaoTian will face off for a chance to take on division leader Rodrigo Caporal at next year’s championship event.
Hanchana was most recently seen tapping out against Caporal at RUFF 6, after earning a pair of submission victories at RUFF 4 and RUFF 5. Wu HaoTian lost his only appearance inside the RUFF cage, a KO loss to Caporal at RUFF 5.
With featherweight Wang Guan already announced as a Super Fight participant, LongYun MMA Club teammates Wu ChengJie andYuan ChunBo will square off for a chance to compete for China’s first 66 kg championship belt.
Wu ChengJie is currently 2-0 inside the RUFF cage, forcing both Dong YanJun and Zhao EriDeMuTu to tapout at RUFF 5 and RUFF 6, respectively. Yuan, whose lone RUFF loss came against Wang at RUFF 5, has notable tapout victories over Dong at RUFF 4, and Sandro da Silva at RUFF 6, where he was awarded the “Submission of the Night” for a kneebar win.
Light heavyweights Zhao ZiLong and Kong HanDong will also go head-to-head in a title eliminator, with the winner set to face Li JiXiang at the 2013 Super Fight.
Zhao, who TKO’d Robert Sothmann at RUFF: Genesis, went the distance with Li at RUFF 5, but dropped the unanimous decision. Kong’s most recent fight was ruled a no contest, after suffering an unintentional kick to the groin from Jonathan Paulson at RUFF 6. His lone RUFF loss came against Li at RUFF 4.
Bantamweights Jumabieke Tuerxun and Irshaad Sayed have already qualified for the 2013 Super Fight, and will go head-to-head for the second time in the RUFF cage in February 2013.
RUFF 7 will be broadcast live across China on Inner Mongolia Satellite TV and the Jiangsu Sports channel, reaching 1.3-billion potential viewers, and will air online via PPTV, Sina, QQ / Tencent, and CNLive.
Key sponsors Nike and Ducati are once again on board for RUFF 7, along with C.O.M.M.A.N.D.-certified Canadian referee Jerin Valel, who will return to oversee the event and the implementation of the unified rules, ensuring RUFF 7 will not only feature world-class competition, but also the highest level of officiating, fighter safety and integrity.
In February 2013, RUFF, along with Los Angeles-based Mandt Bros. Productions, will present the RMB 1,000,000 Super Fight, a title event to crown China’s first MMA national champions in the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, and light heavyweight divisions.
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