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8th Chinese fighter added to UFC-Shanghai as 12-bout lineup again complete

A late heavyweight addition to this week’s UFC Fight Night 122 lineup means a record eight Chinese fighters will appear on the card.

MMAjunkie today confirmed with UFC officials the addition of newcomer Hu Yaozong (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) against Cyril Asker (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in the opening contest of Saturday’s card, which takes place at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai and streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

The card marks the UFC’s debut event in mainland China.

Asker was initially expected to face James Mulheron (11-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who was pulled from the event due to a potential UFC anti-doping policy violation.

Asker, a 31-year-old Frenchman, looks to rebound from a 104-second TKO loss to Walt Harris at UFC Fight Night 111 in June. A fight prior, he scored his first UFC victory by knocking out Dmitry Smoliakov in the first round.

Meanwhile, Yaozong makes his UFC debut in just his fourth professional contest. The Chinese fighter turned pro in October 2016 and has quickly rattled off three stoppage wins to open his career.

With the addition, UFC Fight Night 122 now includes:

MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7 a.m. ET)

  • Michael Bisping vs. Kelvin Gastelum
  • Li Jingliang vs. Zak Ottow
  • Alex Caceres vs. Wang Guan
  • Alex Garcia vs. Muslim Salikhov

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Night, 3:45 a.m. ET)

  • Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Sheymon Moraes
  • Bobby Nash vs. Song Kenan
  • Kailin Curran vs. Yan Xiaonan
  • Bharat Kandare vs. Song Yadong
  • Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Chase Sherman
  • Gina Mazany vs. Wu Yanan
  • Wuliji Buren vs. Rolando Dy
  • Cyril Asker vs. Hu Yaozong

For more on UFC Fight Night 122, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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