Is Liu Ce the Chinese Knockout Artist the UFC Has Been Waiting For?
According to a source with a track record on Chinese MMA signings, K-1 cruiserweight champion Liu Ce is in talks to sign directly with the UFC. The deal has not been confirmed, but the same source previously reported the Cody Garbrandt vs. Xiao Long fight and Song Xiong’s UFC signing, both of which proved accurate.
Who is Liu Ce?
Liu Ce, born September 4, 1996, in Fushun, Liaoning, China, stands 6’4″ (194 cm) with a 197 cm reach and fights out of Tangshan under trainer Wei Rui. He carries an 18-3 kickboxing record with 14 wins by knockout, a number that sets him apart from most striking prospects entering MMA conversations. His style is rooted in Wushu Sanda, and his low kicks, particularly calf kicks, have become a calling card. After dropping his first two fights on the Glory of Heroes promotion in 2018, he rebuilt his record steadily.
The 2023 K-1 30th Anniversary Openweight Grand Prix put Liu Ce on the international radar in a clear way. He entered as one of the smallest men in the tournament and came out having stopped all three opponents by knockout in a single night in Tokyo. He then moved down to his proper weight class, cruiserweight at 90 kg, and in March 2024 challenged Iranian titleholder Sina Karimian in Tokyo.
Liu Ce dominated the fight and stopped Karimian via knockout in the third round to claim the K-1 Cruiserweight belt. His MMA record stood at 2-0 before a loss to Ivan Gnizditskiy by TKO in October 2024 at the Happy Elephant MMA Champions League event. By March 2025, reports indicated he would participate in the Road to UFC’s 6th annual academy combine. He was also stripped of the K-1 cruiserweight title in May 2025 after pulling out of a scheduled defense against Thian de Vries with a broken nose less than a week before the event.
K-1’s Knockout King Eyes the Octagon: Liu Ce in UFC Talks
In a 2024 interview, Liu Ce was direct about his ambitions: “Black Dragon and Pereira are both the ceiling of striking martial arts, and they are also thriving in the UFC and got their own belts — I also imagine having my own place in the striking field and then switching to mixed martial arts.” That candid answer now reads as a preview of where things appear to be heading.
The UFC’s motivation for pursuing a high-profile Chinese striking talent is not difficult to understand. The promotion extended its broadcast deal with Migu, China Mobile’s streaming platform, through 2031 in March 2026, with its Chinese fan base sitting at over 188 million.
Kevin Chang, UFC senior vice president for Asia-Pacific, has repeatedly stated that signing and developing local talent is central to the China strategy. The UFC currently has 17 Chinese athletes on multi-fight contracts, with names like Zhang Weili, Yan Xiaonan, and Song Yadong leading the roster. A knockout artist of Liu Ce’s profile, standing at 6’4″ in the light heavyweight division, would add something the roster currently lacks: a Chinese striker with elite finishing ability and name recognition in the kickboxing world.
As for where he fits in the UFC, Liu Ce would likely enter at light heavyweight (205 lbs), where his 95 kg/209 lb frame sits comfortably. At 6’4″ with a 197 cm reach, he has the physical tools to compete with top-end strikers in that division. The MMA side of his game remains a work in progress, his ground defense was exposed by Gnizditskiy in 2024, but that is a familiar story for kickboxers entering the cage.
That story has played out well before. Alex Pereira, a two-division Kickboxing champion, signed with the UFC in September 2021 and debuted at UFC 268 in November of that year. He went on to beat Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 281 and has since become a two-time light heavyweight champion. Israel Adesanya himself arrived in the UFC after a Kickboxing stint, making his debut in February 2018 and winning the middleweight title within two years.
Liu Ce has been vocal about keeping MMA training going alongside his kickboxing career, mentioning anti-takedown work and ground skills as ongoing areas of development. Whether UFC talks turn into a signed contract remains to be seen, but the commercial logic and the sporting profile both point in the same direction.
