Rongzhu and – Rongzhu sent Victor Martinez down in 70 seconds with a technical knockout on Day 1, while Shi Ming capped the second day by forcing Puja Tomar to tap with an opening-round arm-triangle choke in the women’s flyweight tournament. The fifth season’s Road to UFC m
When the lights settled over Galaxy Arena, it didn’t look like a normal early-round card. It looked like the tournament had teeth.
Top Road to UFC prospects poured into a two-day stretch at the Macau venue. building toward a shot at an official UFC contract. Road to UFC. now in its fifth season. began in 2023 and has become a stage for international contenders—mostly from Asia and the surrounding areas—pushing through tournament-style fights to earn their way forward. The series plays a role similar to American-based pathways like Dana White’s Contender Series and The Ultimate Fighter.
On Thursday’s first day, the home-crowd energy peaked with one dominant name: UFC lightweight Rongzhu. He finished Victor Martinez with a technical knockout in just 70 seconds.
Rongzhu—26, from Sichuan—arrived with momentum and a resume that already felt like a warning to anyone in his way. He won the 155-pound tournament on Season 2 of Road to UFC in 2024 and was 7-1 in his past eight outings. Before dismantling Martinez, he had come in off back-to-back UFC victories over Kody Steele and Austin Hubbard.
The rest of Day 1 added pressure in its own way. Eight of the nine other matchups were tournament quarterfinals for Season 5. with four in the featherweight bracket and four in the bantamweight tournament. Five of those eight advancing fighters earned stoppage victories. including 22-year-old Australian prospect George Mangos. who improved to 9-1 in mixed martial arts.
Day 1 results told the story of a bracket moving fast:
Rong Zhu def. Victor Martinez by TKO.
Xie Bin def. Yudi Cahyadi by TKO.
George Mangos def. Yuito Yanagawa by KO.
Ahejiang Ailinuer def. Lim Gwan-woo by unanimous decision.
Kasib Murdoch def. Yunosuke Minami by submission (arm-triangle choke).
Dagiisuren Chagnaadorj def. Regezhen by split decision.
Rabindra Dhant def. Kimbert Alintozon by TKO.
Ryo Tajima def. Ti Haitao by split decision.
In addition, Song Young-jae def. Jin Aoi by submission (rear-naked choke).
Chungreng Koren def. Ryuho Miyaguchi by submission (rear-naked choke).
Even before the second day began, the tournament’s women’s flyweight storyline had already grabbed attention. Friday’s action was headlined by Shi Ming tapping out Puja Tomar with an opening-round arm-triangle choke to win the Season 4 women’s flyweight tournament, which began in 2025.
Ming is 31 and fights out of Yunnan, China. She joins Rongzhu—along with other UFC competitors Rinya Nakamura, Hyun Sung Park, Chang Ho Lee, Su Young You and Rei Tsuruya, who competes on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event at the same venue—on the list of notable Road to UFC tournament winners.
The second day pushed the Season 5 momentum forward again, featuring quarterfinals in the men’s flyweight and women’s strawweight tournaments, with half the bouts going the distance.
Day 2 results brought Shi Ming right back into the spotlight:
Shi Ming def. Puja Tomar by submission (arm-triangle choke).
Namsrai Batbayar def. Yin Shuai by TKO.
Ji Niushiyue def. Kaito Oda by unanimous decision.
Farida Abdueva def. Feng Xiaocan by TKO.
Joseph Larcinese def. Ryoga Arimoto by split decision.
Meng Bo def. Arisa Matsuda by unanimous decision.
Takaya Suzuki def. Otgonbaatar Boldbaatar by TKO.
Park Bo-hyun def. Dong Huaxiang by split decision.
Takeru Uchida def. Eros Baluyot by submission (rear-naked choke).
Machi Fukuda def. Anelya Toktogonova by TKO.
Across the two days, the road ahead didn’t slow down—it sharpened. Rongzhu’s 70-second statement on Day 1. followed by Shi Ming’s tournament-winning-style finish on Day 2. left the impression that this series isn’t built for cautious fighters. It’s built for the ones who can end fights quickly. carry heat under pressure. and still keep winning once the bracket tightens.
Road to UFC Rongzhu Victor Martinez Shi Ming Puja Tomar Galaxy Arena UFC Fight Night Macau Season 5 Season 4 women's flyweight men’s flyweight women’s strawweight George Mangos
70 seconds?? thats insane lol
So is this like the UFC regular season or is it some WWE thing? The article keeps saying Road to UFC and semifinals like… does it count for rankings?
I think the “tap with an arm-triangle choke” is just submission but like, didn’t he knock her out first? Idk the women’s flyweight part sounded backwards to me. Either way congrats to Shi Ming or whatever.
Macau arena, Galaxy Arena, okay… but why does the article mention Dana White’s Contender Series AND The Ultimate Fighter like those are the same thing? Also “Rongzhu and – Rongzhu” is weird typo, like was there supposed to be another fighter? I’m just confused how they got to semifinals already.