UFC Macau Brings Electric Prelims Early Saturday Morning!

UFC Macau fight week is here. As the calendar changes from May to June at the close of this weekend, a new business venture begins for MMA's No. 1 promotion. Saturday's event serves as the initial show in a four-year partnership between the company and Galaxy Macau Destination Resort.

Both parties hope that this relationship thrives and that Macau becomes a regular stop on the UFC's global itinerary into the new decade. Live coverage of UFC Macau begins at the earlier start time of 4 am ET/ 1 am PT Saturday morning (United States time) with the prelims. 

As always, UFC Macau can be seen gavel-to-gavel via Paramount Plus.  Main card action follows at 7 am ET/ 4 am PT. If there are no adjustments needing to be made to the schedule, the final version of Saturday's show features a slate of 13 contests.

UFC Macau Featured Prelim: Yi Sak Lee vs. Luis Felipe Dias: Looking at Debutante Lee

At the top of the undercard, the middleweights make the walk to the fabled Octagon when Yi Sak Lee (8-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut) squares off against Contender Series alumnus Luis Felipe Dias (16-5 MMA, UFC promotional debut.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

Lee enters his maiden voyage in the Octagon on Saturday night on the strength of a 4-1 record in his last five outings. At the moment, he's won two fights in a row.

On Sept. 20, he finished Daichi Mikami (5-3 MMA) in HEAT 57. While Lee is a submission specialist, with three of his eight professional wins coming by way of submission, Luis Felipe Dias is a force to be reckoned with.

Luis Felipe Dias in Search of Highlight-Reel Finish During Debut at UFC Macau

Dias, a graduate of the 2025 season of Dana White's Contender Series and an alumnus of Brave CF, comes into UFC Macau's featured undercard bout with a mark of 3-2 in his past five bouts. He's on a three-fight winning streak heading into UFC Macau on Saturday. 

Last October, he made the trip to Meta Apex in Enterprise, NV for the penultimate episode of the ninth season of Contender Series. That autumn Tuesday evening, he bested Donavan Hedrick (6-1 MMA) with a second-round submission by way of rear-naked choke.

Dias' performance caught the attention of UFC CEO Dana White, who awarded him a contract at the end of the program. Dias is on a hot streak going into UFC Macau, so will he get his hand raised in his freshman UFC fight?

UFC Macau Co-Featured Prelim: Ding Meng vs. Jose Souza: Meng With Important Bout in Front of Countrymen

Immediately beforehand, the co-featured prelim sees action in the welterweight division. Ding Meng (35-9 MMA, UFC promotional debut) makes his first walk to the Octagon in his 42nd professional fight against Jose Sousa (8-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut.) Meng, the former A1 Combat Welterweight Champion, is 3-2 in his last five contests.

Back on Oct. 4, he stopped Mirali Huseynov (10-4 MMA) with a second-round knockout (leg kicks and punches) to capture the latter's welterweight title. A planned March 27 rematch against Huseynov was scrapped, as was a May 2 fight versus Troy Green (10-5 MMA.)

Meng is a man who came to Las Vegas in an effort to secure a UFC contract by way of Contender Series in the summer of 2024 but left without securing a deal. Saturday night's co-featured prelim is a chance for him to prove that he belongs in the upper eschelon of MMA.

Jose Souza Makes UFC Debut in Macau After Delay

Meanwhile, Jose Souza will be appearing in his first MMA fight since the fall of 2024 on Saturday night in UFC Macau. He's sporting a 4-1 record over the past five MMA bouts and has won three in a row. In November of 2024, he knocked out Porifino Alves (9-4-1 MMA) halfway through the second round.

Meng is the fourth different opponent booked for Jose Souza's UFC debut. Initially, a Feb. 7 fight versus Eric Nolan was canceled after Nolan bowed out of the card and a subsequent booking against Nikolay Veretennikov was postponed upon Souza suffering an injury. 

He was then due to square off with Charles Radtke over the Easter weekend in UFC Vegas 114, but that fight, too, was scrapped for reasons unknown. Close to four months after originally being scheduled to debut, Jose Souza makes the walk on Saturday in UFC Macau. Whether or not he goes home with a win remains to be seen.

UFC Macau: Aoriqileng vs. Cody Haddon: Examining Aoriqileng

Also on the UFC Macau undercard, bantamweights go to battle when Aoriqileng (26-12, 1 NC MMA, 4-4, 1 NC) meets Cody Haddon (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC.) Aoriqileng enters the weekend with a 2-2 record with one no-contest in his five most recent appearances.

During UFC Vancouver on Oct. 18, he only needed 21 seconds to stop Cody Gibson (21-12 MMA, 3-7 UFC) with a straight right followed by hammerfists. In so doing, he secured a $50,000 (USD) bonus for the Performance of the Night.

Saturday's bout in the UFC Macau prelims is an important milestone for Aoriqileng. Will he get over the .500 mark in his 10th UFC bout?

Cody Haddon Makes Sophomore UFC Appearance After Year-Plus Hiatus

In the other corner, Cody Haddon has gone 5-0 in his last five outings. All told, he's on a six-fight winning streak heading into Saturday's card.

He's had a long wait between fights, however. Saturday's bout will be his second under the UFC promotional banner and first since Oct. 12, 2024. That evening, he scored a unanimous decision victory over Dan Argueta (9-3, 2 NC MMA, 1-3, 2 NC UFC) after three rounds of action.

Two planned fights in 2025 went unrealized after Haddon withdrew from the respective cards, including an appearance at Madison Square Garden in November due to a broken foot. Can he shake off the ring rust with a trip to victory lane?

Rest of the Prelims:

The UFC Macau undercard is rounded out by these contests:

• A bantamweight bout matching Rei Tsurya (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) against Luis Gurule (11-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC,)
• a strawweight fight versing No. 14 contender Angela Hill (18-16 MMA, 13-16 UFC) with Xiong Jingnan (19-2 MMA, UFC promotional debut,)
• a featherweight affair pairing Zhu Kangjie (21-4 MMA, UFC promotional debut) against Rodrigo Vera (21-1-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut,)
• and a strawweight fixture between Loma Lookboonmee (10-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) and Jaqueline Amorim (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC.)