Lee Chang-ho (29) and Rana Rudra Pratap Singh (26, India), who have built similar fighter careers, will face off in the second season of Road to UFC.
UFC, the world’s No. 1 mixed martial arts organization, launched Road to UFC in 2022, an Asian prospect contest that gives the winner of a tournament by weight category a chance to enter.
The 2023 Road to UFC kicks off on May 27 at the China Performance Institute Shanghai. India’s ‘Sports Star’ reported, “Lee Chang-ho and Lana will face each other in the opening round of the bantamweight class (-61kg).”
‘Sports Star’ is a magazine with 45 years of history. “Lana has experience at welterweight (-77kg), lightweight (-70kg), and featherweight (-66kg), but Road to UFC competes at bantamweight,” he said.
Lee Chang-ho and Lana have something in common: ▲It is difficult to see bantamweight as their main stage, ▲The ONE Warrior Series experienced their first international competition, and ▲Brave suffered their first loss in a professional mixed martial arts event.
Out of 12 mixed martial arts professional fights, Lana competed six times at a weight heavier than bantamweight, recording a record of 5 wins and 1 loss. Lee Chang-ho played an active part in the flyweight class (-57kg) with an amateur record of 1 win and 1 loss and a professional record of 4 wins and 1 loss.
‘One Warrior Series’ is a reality program produced by ONE Championship. One Championship (Singapore) is grouped into the five major mixed martial arts organizations: ▲UFC, ▲Bellator, ▲Professional Fighters League (above USA), and ▲Rizin (Japan). 스포츠토토
Lee Chang-ho made her international debut in 2019 and Lana in the One Warrior series in 2020. It seems that he gained confidence by earning a victory and making his name known in earnest.
However, in 2021, Rana and Lee Chang-ho experienced frustration at an event hosted by Bahrain’s “Brave” in 2022, and the upward trend was broken. Road to UFC is a good opportunity to show again that it is not for domestic use.
Lee Chang-ho earned the nickname ‘ant hell’ for his grappling based on wrestling and jiu-jitsu. In addition to his height (173-178 cm), he must overcome his inferiority in weight on the day of the match and gain an advantage in the battle with Lana to advance to the next round of Road to UFC.