UFC Shanghai’s Must-See Main Card Saturday Morning

All told, if there are no adjustments made to the itinerary, the final version of UFC Shanghai will feature 12 fights.

UFC Shanghai Main Event: No. 13 Contender Johnny Walker vs. No. 14 Contender Zhang Mingyang

At the top of the bill on Saturday, you’ll see a light heavyweight contest between No. 13 contender Johnny Walker (21-9, 1 NC MMA, 7-6, 1 NC UFC) and No. 14 contender Zhang Mingyang (19-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC.) This fight is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.

Johnny Walker will be making the walk in Shanghai this weekend having posted a record of 2-2 with one no-contest in his last five fights. At the moment, he’s dropped two bouts in succession.

Back on June 22, 2024, he sustained a first-round knockout loss by way of an uppercut to Volkan Oezdemir (20-8 MMA, 8-7 UFC) during UFC Riyadh. This is Walker’s first walk to the fabled Octagon in 2025.

Two planned fights, one in January versus Bogdan Guskov and one in June against Azamat Murzakanov, were scrubbed ahead of the respective cards. 14 months after the contest in Riyadh, he’ll make a return in UFC Shanghai’s main event. How will he fare?

Meanwhile, Zhang Mingyang comes in sporting a perfect 5-0 mark in his last five appearances as part of an ongoing 12-fight winning streak. Since joining the UFC, Zhang has pocketed three straight post-fight bonuses, including in his last fight, a first-round knockout (ground and pound shots) of Anthony Smith (37-22 MMA, 13-12 UFC.)

That April 26 fight in Kansas City, KS was Smith’s retirement fight. In a way, this was a changing of the guard in the division. A seasoned vet gave way to a rising star.

Walker’s rise at light heavyweight has been meteoric in nature. A 13th straight win at UFC Shanghai would be a resume-builder, so can he crack the top 10 at 205?

UFC Shanghai Co-Main Event: No. 5 Contender Brian Ortega vs. No. 7 Contender Aljamain Sterling

Immediately prior to the headliner, the UFC Shanghai co-main event happens in the featherweight division. No. 5 contender Brian Ortega (16-4, 1 NC MMA, 8-4, 1 NC UFC) meets No. 7 contender Aljamain Sterling (24-5 MMA, 16-5 UFC.) This will be a three-round affair at five minutes per round.

Ortega will head to Shanghai with a 2-3 record in his last five contests. Last time out, he dropped a unanimous decision to Diego Lopes (26-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC.) He’s hungry to get back into the win column on Saturday, something that he told USA Today’s MMA Junkie about recently.

“The next chapter is ‘Wartega’, Ortega said. “It’s just time that I not care and go to war. I do good when I just go to war. Sometimes, I try to care about the intricacies of the point-scoring and this and that and I get too deep into that, and it’s like ‘Bro, let’s just fight, man. Let’s go to war and not do it in a dumb way'”.

This fight is a critical one for both men. Should Ortega win in the UFC Shanghai co-main event, he’ll be firmly in the picture for the UFC Featherweight Championship by the time Sunday morning hits.

Across the way, Aljamain Sterling has a mark of 3-2 in his past five contests. The former UFC Bantamweight Champion will look to right the ship this weekend after having dropped a unanimous decision after 15 minutes of action versus Movsar Evloev (19-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) last December in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena.

Much like Brian Ortega, the same high stakes apply for Sterling in UFC Shanghai on Saturday. He’ll be in the conversation for a shot at the featherweight championship if he scores a win over the weekend.

UFC Shanghai: No. 3 Contender Serghei Pavlovich vs. No. 6 Contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Also on the UFC Shanghai main card, you’ll be treated to a critical fight at 265 lbs pitting No. 3 contender  Serghei Pavlovich (19-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) against No. 6 contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta (14-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC.) The former has a 3-2 record in the last five fights.

Most recently, he returned to the win column thanks to a unanimous decision over Jairzinho Rozenstruik (15-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) on Feb 1 in Riyadh. The stakes for the Pavlovich camp are coldly simple on Saturday: a win puts him right on the doorstep for a chance to become the Baddest Man on the Planet as soon as his next fight.

Cortes-Acosta is a tough customer at the shop, however. In the other corner, the sixth-ranked contender comes in on an undefeated 5-0 clip dating back to August of 2023.

He’ll be facing a quick turnaround going into UFC Shanghai. On June 7, he bested Serghei Spivac (17-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) by way of unanimous decision. By the time Saturday rolls around, just 77 days will have passed between appearances inside the Octagon.

Will the short hiatus be helpful to him? Only time will tell.

Final Thoughts

Which fight or fights on the UFC Shanghai main card are you looking forward to on Saturday?