The UFC Apex is set to host the inaugural “Road to UFC” tournament finale on Saturday, February 4. Eight fighters will step into the octagon for the preliminaries of “UFC Fight Night 218: Lewis vs. Spivac,” and only four will reign victorious, earning the chance of a lifetime.

“Road to UFC” was developed to introduce Asia’s next top MMA stars to the world of UFC; an opportunity for the prospects to showcase their skills on the world’s biggest stage. Thirty-two athletes began their journey in the “win-and-advance” style tournament, with eight athletes in each of four men’s categories: flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight. Competing athletes in the tournament originate from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, The Philippines, and Thailand.

Both the quarterfinal and semifinal matches featured athletes fighting for their future each time they stepped into the octagon.

Take a look below as we recap the “Road to UFC” fights that have happened so far, and which athletes will be competing in the finale.

Quarterfinals | Singapore Indoor Stadium, June 2022

The opening round of “Road to UFC” was held in June at the Singapore Indoor Stadium ahead of “UFC 275: Teixeira vs Prochazka,” UFC’s first-ever pay-per-view event in Southeast Asia. Sixteen athletes won and advanced to the semifinals to compete in Abu Dhabi.

Here were the official results:

Episode 1

• Flyweight: SeungGuk Choi def. Rama Supandhi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

• Bantamweight: Toshiomi Kazama def. Maimaitituoheti Keremuaili via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

• Featherweight: Yi Zha def. Keisuke Sasu via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:14

• Lightweight: WonBin Ki def. Jinnosuke Kashimura via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:45

• Light Heavyweight: Zhang Mingyang def. Tuco Tokkos via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:57 

SeungGuk Choi successfully shut down his opponent Rama “Hellboy” Supandhi in the last 90 seconds of the quarterfinals to secure his spot in the semifinals. Choi was not completely satisfied with his performance when asked about it, though.

He spoke about what he hopes to showcase in the next part of the competition.

“I’m not satisfied with the movement I did, but I am obviously happy I won.”

Determined to better prepare for his next bout, he said, “I’m going to practice and improve my strength, strikes and skills. I’m happy to get closer to the UFC, and I am going to work hard to get there.”

Episode 2

• Featherweight: Koyomi Matsushima def. JunYoung Hong via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)

• Flyweight: Qui Lun def. Wallen Del Rosario via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

• Flyweight: Takeru Uchida def. Shaun Etchell via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:26

• Lightweight: Jeka Saragih defeats Pawan Maan via knockout (spinning backfist) – Round 3, 2:24 

A textbook spinning backfist landed Jeka Saragih in the semifinals. Saragih wants the world to know how determined he is to take this thing all the way.

“I’m not satisfied with this one victory,” Saragih said. “After this, I’m going to train even harder because I want the UFC contract.”

Episode 3

• Featherweight: JeongYeong Lee def. Xie Bin via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 0:36

• Flyweight: Top Noi Kiwram def. Yuma Horiuchi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)

• Bantamweight: Rinya Nakamura def. Gugun Gusman via submission (Americana) – Round 1, 2:34

• Strawweight: Josephine Knutsson def. YeDam Seo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

JeongYeong Lee proves why he is the favorite in the featherweight competition by delivering a quick finish of opponent Xie Bin. The South Korean tells us how.

“My specialty is the armbar, so I planned to get this victory doing just that,” he said. “I’m going to come back with new techniques, and I am going to surprise you.”

Episode 4

• Flyweight: HyunSung Park def. Jeremia Siregar via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:56

• Bantamweight: Shohei Nose def. Wulijiburen via TKO (injury stoppage) – Round 1, 1:13

• Featherweight: Lu Kai def. Angga via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:33

• Lightweight: KyeongPyo Kim def. Asikeerbai Jinensibieke via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:30

• Welterweight: HanSeul Kim def. John Adajar via submission (triangle armbar) – Round 1, 4:37

HyungSung Park kept his record clean with a patient performance that led to a TKO in the first round against Jeremia Siregar. The flyweight questioned his lack of nerves entering the arena but mentioned how he used it to his advantage to ultimately defeat his opponent.

“Surprisingly, I wasn’t that nervous, and I was thinking to myself, ‘Is this right?’” he said. But being able to execute his game plan accordingly helped Park stay steady. “He, out of nowhere, started wrestling me so, from there, I went for the double underhooks and I took him down.”

Semifinals | Abu Dhabi, October 2022

The semifinals of “Road to UFC” were held October 23, in Abu Dhabi, the day after “UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev” took place. Eight athletes won and advanced to the finals to compete in Las Vegas on February 4.

Here were the official results:

Episode 5

• Featherweight: Yi Zha def. Koyomi Matsushima via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)

• Flyweight: SeungGuk Choi def. Qiu Lun via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

• Lightweight: Jeka Saragih def. Wonbin Ki via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:41

• Featherweight: Keisuke Sasu def. Balajin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

A competitive three rounds played out between two featherweight favorites. Yi Zha ultimately clinched his spot in the semifinals with the judge’s decision, moving his record to 21-3. Yi explains how he felt after such a hard-fought victory. 

“I thought we fought a very even match; after the judges raised my hand, I was very excited,” Yi also added that he hopes fight fans appreciated all his work. “I know the fans saw 15 minutes in the octagon, but its beyond (that). We are fighters for 15, but we sacrifice a lot in our daily lives.

Episode 6

• Featherweight: JeongYeong Lee def. Lu Kai via knockout (right hand) – Round 1, 0:42

• Bantamweight: Rinya Nakamura def. Shohei Nose via knockout – Round 1, 2:21

• Flyweight: HyunSung Park def. Top Noi Kiwram via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:05

• Lightweight: Anshul Jubli def. KyeongPyo Kim via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

• Welterweight: Samandar Murodov def. Gian Siqueira via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:59

Rinya Nakamura secured a spot in the Road To UFC finals after his incredible first-round knockout victory over Shohei Nose. After the win, Nakamura wanted the world to know just how determined he is to earn a spot in the in UFC.

I did not come here (just to be) a UFC fighter, Nakamura said. I came to be a UFC champion.

Nakamura and seven others await their fate.

Look below to see the final matchups.

Finals | UFC Apex, February 4

• Flyweight: SeungGuk Choi vs HyunSung Park

• Bantamweight: Toshiomo Kazama vs Rinya Nakamura

• Featherweight: Yi Zha vs JeongYeong Lee

• Lightweight: Jeka Saragih vs Anshul Jubli

This story first published at UFC.com.