This weekend’s UFC Shanghai event is packed with UFC newcomers, and one of the more unexpected signings on the card is former K-1 Kickboxing Champion Ce Liu.
Standing at 6’5”, Liu boasts a 21-3 professional kickboxing record that includes 14 wins via knockout and 10-fight win streak that dates back to September of 2021. He last competed in kickboxing when he defended his K-1 cruiserweight belt at K-1 World Max 2024, and just two weeks after that he competed in his third MMA bout and was stopped with ground and pound during the second round.
The first loss of Liu’s MMA career came after he finished back-to-back opponents in 2023. Last May, he returned to MMA and sent Igor Barabanov to the mat with leg kicks before jumping in to end things with follow-up punches.
Liu has dwarfed the opposition he’s faced in MMA, although so far he hasn’t always used his massive frame and reach as effectively as I’d like to see. He typically keeps his lead hand extended and may get warned for having his fingers out now that he’s in the UFC, and he’ll also throw out occasional jabs to both the head and body of his opponents.
The 29-year-old will sometimes use 1-2 combinations but relies pretty heavily on single shots, and his right straight is a particularly devastating weapon as both a lead and counter. Liu is happy to double or even triple up on that strike if it’s connecting, and he’ll do the same when he’s finding success with his left hook as well.
Possibly Liu’s favorite attack is his rear high kick, which he can uncork deceivingly quick for a fighter of his size. At least in MMA, he unfortunately only really throws that as a single shot as well, although if it does connect cleanly then it can be a fight-ending strike.
“The Oriental Dragon” also utilizes heavy leg kicks that quickly hamper an opponent if left unchecked, and during striking exchanges he’s constantly looking to move laterally and circle away from the power hand of his opposition.
Grappling is unsurprisingly the biggest point of concern for the former kickboxing champion, but one thing he does do well is lean on opponents and force them to carry his weight if they press him to the fence. He’ll also occasionally look to wrap up their neck from this position, and he likes to frame off of an opponent’s face with his forearm in order to create some space and return to striking range.
If he’s in control of a clinch, Liu will immediately look to land knees to the body and head of his opponent. He also unexpectedly hit a fairly slick throw to bring Barabanov to the mat in his most recent fight, and while he is capable of landing heavy ground and pound Liu also won’t chase an opponent to the mat unless he feels like they’re close to being finished.
On the subject of his ground game, Liu’s lone MMA loss saw him get handled on the mat in fairly dominant fashion by Ivan Gnizditskiy. The 29-year-old had also pretty clearly slowed down in the latter part of the first round, and he was likely saved by the bell after getting caught in a face crank before Gnizditskiy ultimately finished him with ground and pound in the second frame.
Aside from Gnizditskiy, Liu has largely been able to bully opposition he’s faced in his short MMA career. That’s allowed him to really turn things up with his striking when he senses an opponent is fading, but that loss to Gnizditskiy and the way both his kicks and punches slowed down does make me wonder how much cardio he has for an extended MMA fight that he isn’t in complete control of.
I can understand why the UFC signed Liu for this card given his kickboxing credentials and that the event is in Shanghai, but I don’t know how far he’ll go without making some serious strides in his grappling. That being said, he’s competing in a very thin division and could definitely sleep some opponents depending on how the UFC brass decide to match him up, and I’ll be interested to see how Levi Rodrigues Jr. approaches the fight after Liu was originally supposed to face another former kickboxer in Junior Tafa.
