You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!
Seven rookies stepped into the Octagon yesterday (Sat., May 30, 2026) at UFC Macau inside Galaxy Arena in Macau, SRA, China. Collectively, the newcomers went 3-4, with a few of them making an immediate impact in their UFC debuts.
Now that the dust has settled, let’s grade their respective performances below:
Luis Felipe Dias & Yi-sak Lee
Brazil’s Luis Felipe Dias collided with South Korea’s Yi-sak Lee in the Prelim headliner, and the Brazilian made his presence known.
Known primarily as a high-level grappler, Dias didn’t need his grappling whatsoever in his UFC debut, as he picked apart Lee on the feet before ultimately stopping him.
Dias started with a barrage of powerful calf and body kicks. He then dropped Lee with a right hand, but the Korean quickly got back to his feet. Later in the round, Dias threw a flying knee that nearly landed before following up with punches. Moments later, Dias connected with another heavy right hand that spun Lee around, then pounced to force the referee stoppage — though it was slightly early (watch highlights).
Dias is a specimen for the Middleweight division, and now that he’s becoming more comfortable with his striking, he’s going to be one to watch. He’s extremely dangerous and only getting better. Oh, and he’s one of Carlos Prates‘ main training partners.
If he’s up for it, I’d like him to jump in on short notice to take on Ismail Naurdiev in UFC Baku.
Final grade: A+
As for Lee, he just couldn’t get anything going and was overwhelmed from the beginning of the fight. I don’t think he’s going to find much success in the promotion because he fought a lot of lower-tier fighters on the regional scene and isn’t very experienced.
For his next bout, he could take on Ben Johnston, another recent signee who also failed to impress.
Final grade: F
Jose Henrique Souza & Meng Ding
I’m not going to lie, this fight kind of sucked, even though there was some action.
Jose Henrique Souza and Meng Ding welcomed each other to the Octagon, but it was the Brazilian who squeaked out a split decision.
The two Welterweights traded low kicks and teep kicks throughout much of the opening round before Souza dropped Ding with a right hand. Despite being dropped, Ding was the more aggressive fighter and often landed the cleaner shots.
The second round was more of the same, with Souza stunning Ding with a flush knee to the jaw, but Ding continued marching forward behind pressure and combinations.
By the final round, a desperate Souza acknowledged to his corner that he was likely losing. Still, he managed to find success behind a long southpaw jab and solid left cross. While Ding’s leg kicks nearly buckled Souza’s awkward stance, his pressure slowed enough for Souza to land a few clean counters and even engage in some bizarre late-round showboating. Souza ultimately got the decision, but it wasn’t impressive whatsoever.
Souza is a massive Welterweight who has gotten much better and experienced since losing on Contender Series in 2022. He’s still very young at 24 years old, so I won’t give up on him just yet, even though his debut wasn’t anything to write home about.
The promotion should try to rebook him against Nikolay Veretennikov for his next outing.
Final grade: C
Ding also lost on the Contender Series, and it was pretty similar to this fight — marching forward but not landing anything of substance … even though he has 45 pro fights with 28 knockouts.
I don’t think he’s very good and was only signed because UFC needed more Chinese fighters to fill the card.
He should take on Victor Valenzuela, who made his UFC debut earlier this year.
Final grade: D
Xiong Jingnan
After spending nearly a decade in ONE Championship, where she became a seven-time champion before much of her prime was wasted through inactivity, Xiong Jingnan finally made her highly anticipated UFC debut — and it turned into a wild fight.
Unfortunately, the Chinese veteran ran into Angela Hill, who may have delivered the best performance of her career at 41 years old.
Jingnan came out swinging, but Hill dropped her early and repeatedly punished her in the Muay Thai clinch with knees to the body. Hill even landed multiple flying knees throughout the fight.
The second round followed a similar pattern. Hill landed the first takedown, but Jingnan immediately returned to her feet. Hill continued finding success with elbows, knees, and her right hand while even threatening a standing guillotine.
Round three was all Hill. She was just pulverizing Jingnan wherever the fight went. To Jingnan’s credit, she never stopped fighting back and even taunted Hill into standing in the center and trading.
Jingnan is an excellent addition to the Strawweight division, even though she is 38 years old, because she’s as high-level as it gets and is extremely fun to watch. The problem is, if she couldn’t beat Hill, who is 41, how high is her ceiling really?
Jingnan will likely not make a huge impact in the division, but she’ll be in fun fights for as long as she fights in the promotion
I would like to see her fight Loma Lookboonmee, who also lost at UFC Macau
Final grade: C–
Rodrigo Vera & Zhu Kangji
After not being selected for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, Peru’s Rodrigo Vera got the short-notice call to the big show after years of grinding on the regional scene — and he made the absolute most of it by crushing fellow newcomer Zhu Kangjie.
Kangjie came out ultra-aggressive, throwing power punches before Vera’s leg kicks began slowing him down. Vera mixed things up with a takedown after a few exchanges, but Kangjie quickly got back to his feet. Moments later, Vera caught him with a counter left hook that dropped him. Vera swarmed with vicious ground-and-pound, forcing the referee to stop the fight (watch highlights).
It’s pretty insane that Vera wasn’t selected for TUF, considering he entered the UFC with a 22-1-1 record and a 14-fight winning streak. He’s extremely well-rounded and obviously very experienced. The thing that stands out most is that he’s a proven finisher, but he can also comfortably go the full 15 minutes.
Simply put, he’s a tremendous addition to the Bantamweight division, even though he fought at Featherweight in his debut.
I would like to see him fight Serhiy Sidey in his next outing.
Final grade: A+
While Kangjie got smoked in under two minutes, it isn’t that he’s bad — it’s more that Vera is very good. Kangjie is going to be an exciting fighter, and he’s going to provide several fun fights because of his aggressive style, even though he didn’t necessarily show it during his Road to UFC run.
The promotion should rebook him against Ramon Taveras.
Final grade: F
For complete UFC Macau results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.
