Road to UFC: Yi Zha flies the flag for China as Asia-wide search reaches finals
- Chinese featherweight faces South Korean Lee Jeong-yeong at Fight Night 218 in Las Vegas with a UFC contract at stake
- ‘Our whole lives are dedicated to this sport. All the hours and hard work we put in are in the hope these opportunities come,’ Yi says
Yi Zha was the last Chinese fighter standing when the dust settled on the semi-finals of the Asian Road to UFC tournament and that was of no great surprise to the featherweight from Sichuan.
At 26 years of age and with a record of 21-3 that dates back to 2016 behind him, Yi has been around, and he’s felt ever since the region-wide talent sweep was announced that this, right here, was his pathway to the big show.
“When I heard about this tournament I knew this was my chance,” Yi says. “I feel like my whole life has led me here, to this moment. People only really see what we do when we fight but our whole lives are dedicated to this sport. All the hours and the hard work we put in are in the hope that these opportunities come.”
That fact was going through Yi’s mind when found himself obviously down on the judges’ cards a round into his semi-final against Japan’s Koyomi Matsushima (13-6) in Abu Dhabi this past October. It sparked the Chinese fighter into action, and he dug deep to take a split decision.
“I think from the last fight, I learned a lot,” Yi says. “It was an experience of just how to get through a fight when you are behind. You get better as a fighter in those situations and I felt I had to do more.”
The Road to UFC comes to a conclusion this weekend in Las Vegas as part of the Fight Night 218 card. It all started out in Singapore last June with 32 fighters from seven nations fighting across four weight divisions. Now there are eight fighters from five nations left and the tournament has delivered on its promise to unearth talent from untapped talent pools as well as fighters who have slipped through the net – so far, at least.
