[PREVIEW] Rei Tsuruya vs. Kevin Borjas | UFC Shanghai
共有
EVENT DETAILS
- Date: August 29, 2026 (Saturday)
- Location: SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center, Shanghai, China
- Event: UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song
- Broadcast: U-NEXT (Japan)
- Bout: Flyweight MMA
FIGHTER DATA: REI TSURUYA
- Team/Gym: THE BLACKBELT JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Height: 168 cm (5'6")
- Weight Class: Flyweight (125 lbs)
- Record: 11-1-0
- UFC Record: 2 Wins, 1 Loss
- Fight Style: Elite grappler / chain-wrestler. Tsuruya is a suffocating top-control specialist with explosive entries, aggressive scrambles, and relentless submission hunting. After suffering his first professional loss to Joshua Van, he returned with a first-round rear-naked choke victory over Luis Gurule.
- Notable Fights: Joshua Van, Luis Gurule, Carlos Hernandez, Jiniushiyue.
FIGHTER DATA: KEVIN BORJAS
- Alias: El Gallo Negro
- Team/Gym: Pitbull Martial Arts Center
- Country: Peru
- Height: 165 cm (5'5")
- Reach: 173 cm (68")
- Weight Class: Flyweight (125 lbs)
- Record: 11-5-0
- UFC Record: 2 Wins, 4 Losses
- Fight Style: Orthodox / power striker. Borjas carries real knockout danger for the flyweight division, with eight wins by KO and five first-round finishes. Compact, fast, and willing to trade, he is especially dangerous when opponents enter recklessly.
- Notable Fights: Joshua Van, Andre Lima, Ronaldo Rodriguez, Sumudaerji, Alessandro Costa, Imanol Rodriguez.
FIGHT BACKGROUND & HIGHLIGHTS
Rei Tsuruya returns at UFC Shanghai with momentum, but not comfort. After suffering the first defeat of his career against Joshua Van, the Japanese flyweight prospect came back in Macau and submitted Luis Gurule in the first round. That win restored direction. This fight will test whether the rebound can become a real climb.
Standing across from him is Kevin “El Gallo Negro” Borjas, a Peruvian striker with legitimate danger in his hands. Borjas may carry an uneven UFC record, but his threat is obvious: he has the speed, toughness, and punching power to punish any careless entry. He even dropped Joshua Van in their 2023 fight, proving that his power translates against elite flyweights.
For Tsuruya, this is a crucial step toward the UFC flyweight rankings. For Borjas, it is a chance to break another Japanese prospect’s rise and turn himself from a dangerous opponent into a true contender.
The Breakdown
- The Context: Tsuruya is no longer undefeated, but he is still one of Japan’s most important UFC prospects. After a dominant submission win in Macau, he now faces a harder stylistic test in Shanghai.
- The Matchup: Tsuruya’s chain-wrestling, top pressure, and submission game will collide with Borjas’ compact boxing, counter power, and willingness to exchange in the pocket.
- The Key Question: Can Tsuruya enter safely without eating the same kind of sharp counter that made Borjas dangerous against Joshua Van?
- The Stakes: A win could push Tsuruya closer to the UFC flyweight rankings. A loss would slow Japan’s grappling prodigy at the exact moment he needs to prove he is more than a prospect.
HAGAKURE ANGLE
Tsuruya’s path is not built on chaos. It is built on control. He wins when he turns open space into a cage, a cage into a clinch, a clinch into a takedown, and a takedown into a submission threat.
Borjas exists to interrupt that sequence. He does not need to win every minute. He only needs one clean moment: one entry read correctly, one right hand timed perfectly, one exchange where Tsuruya’s confidence becomes exposure.
This is why the fight matters. It is not simply Japan versus Peru. It is structure versus volatility. Tsuruya must show that his grappling is not just dominant when the fight goes his way, but reliable when danger is waiting at the door.
For a young fighter trying to climb again after his first fall, this is the right kind of test: dangerous, uncomfortable, and necessary.