UFC Fight Night 233 is not taking place in China. The event on December 9th has been moved to Las Vegas but another Chinese fighter found his way onto the card this week.
A welterweight bout which was presumably in the works before the decision to switch venue was made pits Kenan Song against Kevin Jousset. It takes the number of fights on the card to seven with more likely to be announced in the coming weeks.
Song (21-7) is coming off a win at UFC Singapore. He has been on the roster since 2017 and has won five out of his eight fights, this will be the first time he has fought three times in a calendar year since signing for the promotion.
Jousset (9-2) hails from France but is based in New Zealand and represents the famous City Kickboxing camp. He is coming off a submission win over Kiefer Crosbie at UFC 293.
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Bantamweight headliner
The event had been scheduled to take place at the Mercedez Benz Arena in Shanghai but was moved to the Apex Centre in Las Vegas. A few bouts have already been removed from the card but Song Yadong is set to face Chris Gutierrez in a bantamweight headliner.
Yadong was scheduled to fight Rob Font at UFC 292. He pulled out of that fight with an undisclosed injury but appears to be back in training in China.
He is based permanently at Team Alpha Male in California. But Yadong, who is coming off a win over Ricky Simon at UFC Vegas 72, now appears to be back in his homeland.
He had been expected to face Petr Yan but instead the Chinese bantamweight has been matched with Gutierrez (20-4-2). He is coming off a win over Yadong’s compatriot Alateng Heili at UFC Vegas 81.
Gutierrez also holds a win over Mongolia’s Danaa Batgerel. The American is #14 at bantamweight while Yadong sits significantly higher in the rankings at #7.
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Asian flavour
The card still has a distinctly Asian flavour and features a flyweight fight pitting Sumudaerji against Allan Nascimento. The Chinese fighter returns to the octagon after a year long absence and has three wins and three losses from his previous six UFC fights.
Also featuring will be Road to UFC flyweight tournament winner Hyun Sung Park. The Undefeated Korean has been matched with Shannon Ross.
A middleweight veteran from Korea is also in action. Jun Yong Park will be looking for his fifth straight UFC win when he takes on André Muniz.
Meanwhile undefeated Japanese flyweight Tatsuro Taira will be looking to build on his exciting start to life in the octagon when he takes on Carlos Hernandez.
Nasrat Haqparast and Jamie Mullarkey were originally booked to face off in a lightweight fight at UFC 284. The Afghan pulled out but the bout has been rescheduled for December 9th.
What an armbar by @TatsuroTaira 💪 #UFCVegas62
pic.twitter.com/ws43EhKXdb— UFC (@ufc) October 15, 2022
History repeating
This is the second time this year that a card in Asia has been moved to Las Vegas at relatively late notice. UFC Seoul was cancelled when the Korean Zombie got injured, that event was switched to the Apex Centre too.
UFC Vegas 83, Shanghai, December 9th
Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez(Bantamweight)
André Muniz vs. Park Jun-Yong (Middleweight)
Tatsuro Taira vs. Carlos Hernandez (Flyweight)
Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey (Lightweight)
Hyun-Sung Park vs. Shannon Ross (Flyweight)
Sumudaerji vs. Allan Nascimento (Flyweight)
Song Kenan vs. Kevin Jousset (Welterweight)
