UFC Shanghai With Electric Prelims Early Saturday Morning

UFC Shanghai fight week is here. Saturday, the UFC's August schedule of events concludes with a trip to China's Pudong District for this weekend's edition of UFC Fight Night. 

Live coverage of UFC Shanghai begins at an earlier than normal start time of 3 am ET/ 12 midnight PT with the prelims on Paramount Plus. Main card action caps the morning's activities at 6 am ET/ 3 am PT. 

If there are no adjustments needing to be made to the bout order between now and the weekend, the final version of UFC Shanghai will feature a slate of 13 fights from the No. 1 MMA promotion in the world.

UFC Shanghai Featured Prelim: Namsrai Batbayar vs. Andre Lima: Road to UFC Champ Makes UFC Debut Saturday

At the top of the undercard, fans will be treated to a flyweight contest matching Namsrai Batbayar (10-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut) against Andre Lima (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

Namsrai Batbayar, a veteran of the Road to UFC Flyweight Tournament, has gone 5-0 in his last five fights as part of an ongoing six-fight winning streak. This past May, he secured a UFC contract by winning the flyweight tournament final against Shuai Yin (18-7 MMA, 1-3 Road to UFC) with a first-round knockout.

Batbayar had been booked to fight Aaron Tau in the originally-scheduled final on Feb. 1 during UFC 325, but at the official weigh-ins on Jan. 30, Tau exceeded the flyweight target by 7 lbs, resulting in the contest being canceled. As a result of Tau's weight miss, he was cut from the UFC. 

With Batbayar winning the tournament after the delay, his UFC debut awaits on Saturday. How will he fare?

Andre Lima Eager to Get Back to Victory Lane

Across the way, Andre Lima comes into UFC Shanghai on Saturday with a record of 4-1 in his last five fights. Last time out, he suffered his first defeat as a professional MMA fighter by way of unanimous decision at the hands of Kevin Borjas (11-5 MMA, 2-4 UFC) during UFC Vegas 119 at the Meta Apex.

Recently, Lima was interviewed by Ag Fight and owed the defeat to a lengthy hiatus in-between contests. Prior to the June 20 loss, he hadn't fought since March of last year.

"It was my time to lose and to go through that bitter defeat," Lima said. "The time I spent inactive ended up affecting my fighting rhythm and everything."

Only time will tell if Lima is to avenge his defeat to Borjas two months ago.

UFC Shanghai Co-Featured Prelim: Rei Tsuruya vs. Kevin Borjas: Tsuruya in Search of Second Straight Win

Immediately beforehand, the co-featured prelim of UFC Shanghai sees more flyweight action taking place between Rei Tsuruya (11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and the aforemention Kevin Borjas (11-5 MMA, 2-4 UFC.) Tsuruya enters Saturday's card having posted a mark of 4-1 in his last five outings. 

A veteran of Road to UFC, he submitted Luis Gurule (11-4 MMA, 1-4 UFC) inside the first round of his last fight on May 30 during UFC Macau. Rei Tsuruya is coming in on a quick turnaround.

By the time the cage door shuts on Saturday, 89 days will have passed between fights. Can he go 2-for-2 in China this year?

Kevin Borjas Also on Quick Turnaround

Meanwhile, Kevin Borjas has gone 2-3 in his last five contests. He comes into the weekend under the same scenario as his adversary in more than one way, as he is in search of his second win a row himself.

Prior to defeating Andre Lima in his last fight on June 20 at the Apex in Enterprise, NV, he was on the losing end of a second-round knockout from Imanol Rodriguez (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in the latter's UFC promotional debut on Feb. 28 in Mexico City. While Tsuruya has had 89 days between contests, Kevin Borjas comes in after only a 69-day hiatus.

How much will having only two months away factor into Kevin Borjas' approach to the fight? Tune in and find out.

UFC Shanghai: Jack Jenkins vs. Sean Woodson: Jenkins Returns After 11 Months

Also on the undercard this Saturday, the featherweights clash for a fight between Jack Jenkins (14-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Sean Woodson (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC.) Jenkins will be making the walk on the strength of a 3-2 record in his past five appearances.

On Sept. 27 of last year, Jenkins secured a unanimous decision victory over Ramon Tavares (10-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) during UFC Perth. He was set to return on May 2 against Marwan Rahiki (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) before the contest was scrubbed amid Jenkins suffering an injury.

With a clean bill of health now afforded to Jenkins and his camp, one question remains: Does Jenkins get another trip to the winners' circle?

Sean Woodson Back for First Fight Since April of '25

In the other corner, Sean Woodson, nicknamed "The Sniper," is sporting a 4-1 record in his last five contests. Back on April 12, 2025, he lost by way of third-round knockout (punches) to Dan Ige (19-11 MMA, 11-10 UFC) in UFC 314 from Miami. 

It's been over 16 months since that fight against Ige. In an interview with MMA Junkie, Woodson said he intended to take a break following the contest.

"After the six months, I was trying to get a fight and it just took this whole time," he said. "I got offered a fight back in October against Kyle Nelson in Canada, but that was on like four weeks' total notice. I had like three weeks to cut weight and I was too heavy at the time. I just couldn't do it."

Rest of the Prelims

UFC Shanghai's undercard is rounded out by these contests:

• A bantamweight fight between Xiao Long (27-11 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Francesco Nuzzi (11-2, 2 NC MMA, UFC promotional debut,)
• a bantamweight bout matching Lawrence Lui (8-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut) against Hector Santiago (6-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut,)
• a strawweight showcase pairing Xiong Jingnan (19-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with Julia Polastri (14-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC)
• and a welterweight fixture pairing Ding Meng (35-10 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with Cam Nelson (7-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut.)