Wuliji Buren
# Wuliji Buren

Wuliji Buren (Chinese: 乌力吉布仁; pinyin: Weliji Buren born March 1, 1990) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

## Background

Starting out as a Shuai jiao, wrestler, Wuliji Buren competed in the China National Shuai jiao Tournament, where he took third place. After watching UFC for years, in 2013 he retired from the wrestling team and made the decision to do MMA.

## Mixed martial arts career

### Early career

In the beginning of his mixed martial arts career, Wuliji fought primarily in Chinese regional scene. After racking up a record of 9–4, he fought for the Chin Woo Men MMA Professional League Featherweight Championship, which he won in the finals with a submission win over Ye Yuan.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his UFC debut, Wuliji Buren faced Rolando Dy in UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Gastelum on November 25, 2017. At the weigh-ins, Dy weighed in at 148 lbs., two pounds over the featherweight limit. As a result, he forfeited 20% of his purse to Buren and the bout was fought at a catchweight. Wuliji lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Wuliji faced Marlon Vera on August 8, 2018, at UFC 227. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

His next fight came on February 9, 2019, at UFC 234 against Jonathan Martinez. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

After his third straight loss and inactivity of almost a year, Wuliji Buren was released from the UFC in January 2020.

### Road to UFC

After his release from the UFC, Buren returned to the Chinese regional scene, winning his next three bouts via submission; second round shoulder choke against Aleksandr Lunga at WLF W.A.R.S. 39, second round guillotine at WLF W.A.R.S. 41 against Nikolay Kondratuk, and finally first round arm-triangle choke at Huya FC against Lei Yu. He would lose his next bout at WLF MMA 52 against Keremuaili Maimaitituohati via unanimous decision, before rebounding by winning in 29 seconds via flying knee against Akenbieke Ayijiake.

Nakamura faced Shohei Nose in the quarterfinals of the Bantamweight tournament on June 9, 2022, in Road to UFC Season 1: Episode 4. He lost the bout via TKO due to sustaining a knee injury.

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :

| 24 matches | 15 wins | 9 losses |
| - | - | - |
| By knockout | 3 | 3 |
| By submission | 8 | 2 |
| By decision | 4 | 4 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 15–9 | Shohei Nose | TKO (knee injury) | Road to UFC Season 1: Episode 4 | June 10, 2022 | 1 | 1:13 | Kallang, Singapore | Return to Bantamweight. Road to UFC Season 1 Bantamweight Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 15–8 | Akenbieke Ayijiake | KO (flying knee) | WKG & M-1: 2021 Harbin Bank Chengdu Charity Tournament | September 12, 2021 | 1 | 0:29 | Chengdu, China | |
| Loss | 14–8 | Keremuaili Maimaitituohati | Decision (unanimous) | WLF MMA 52 | April 30, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Maotai, China | |
| Win | 14–7 | Lei Yu | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Huya FC 3 | December 27, 2020 | 1 | 2:54 | Zhengzhou, China | Return to Featherweight. |
| Win | 13–7 | Nikolay Kondratuk | Submission (guillotine choke) | WLF W.A.R.S. 41 | January 3, 2020 | 2 | 2:47 | Zhengzhou, China | |
| Win | 12–7 | Aleksandr Lunga | Submission (shoulder choke) | WLF W.A.R.S. 39 | October 18, 2019 | 2 | 2:45 | Zhengzhou, China | Catchweight (139 lb) bout. |
| Loss | 11–7 | Jonathan Martinez | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 234 | February 9, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Melbourne, Australia | |
| Loss | 11–6 | Marlon Vera | KO (punch to the body) | UFC 227 | August 4, 2018 | 2 | 4:53 | Los Angeles, California, United States | Bantamweight debut. |
| Loss | 11–5 | Rolando Dy | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Gastelum | November 25, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Shanghai, China | Catchweight (148 lb) bout; Dy missed weight. |
| Win | 11–4 | Ye Yuan | Submission (guillotine choke) | Chin Woo Men: 2016-2017 Season Final | September 16, 2017 | 1 | N/A | Guangzhou, China | Won the Chin Woo Men Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 10–4 | Rong Zhu | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Chin Woo Men: 2016-2017 Season, Stage 6 | April 7, 2017 | 1 | 1:37 | Guangzhou, China | |
| Win | 9–4 | Beno Adamia | TKO (slam) | Superstar Fight 7 | January 13, 2017 | 3 | 4:26 | Changsha, China | Catchweight (139 lb) bout. |
| Win | 8–4 | Sirozhiddin Eshanbaev | Submission | Glory of Heroes: Conquest of Heroes 1 | December 2, 2016 | 2 | N/A | Jiyuan, China | |
| Loss | 7–4 | Dong Gyu Kim | Decision (split) | Art of War 18 | July 30, 2016 | 2 | 5:00 | Beijing, China | |
| Win | 7–3 | Roman Lutsenko | Decision (unanimous) | WLF E.P.I.C. 4 | May 28, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Zhengzhou, China | |
| Loss | 6–3 | Musa Kazikhanov | Submission (triangle choke) | Bullet Fly FC 4 | March 26, 2016 | 3 | 0:00 | Beijing, China | |
| Loss | 6–2 | Alexandros Michailidis | TKO (punches) | WLF E.P.I.C. 2 | March 13, 2016 | 1 | 1:30 | Zhengzhou, China | |
| Loss | 6–1 | Chengjie Wu | Submission (armbar) | WBK 4: Battle of Kings | June 5, 2015 | 1 | 2:45 | Ningbo, China | |
| Win | 6–0 | Ali El Ezzabi | Decision (split) | Kunlun Fight 12 | October 26, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Jianshui, China | Return to Bantamweight. |
| Win | 5–0 | Chang Xin Fu | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Chinese Kung Fu Championships | September 21, 2014 | 1 | 0:00 | Qian'an, China | Lightweight debut. |
| Win | 4–0 | Xiaolong Bai | Decision (unanimous) | Chinese Kung Fu Championships | September 19, 2014 | 3 | 3:00 | Qian'an, China | |
| Win | 3–0 | Wulalibieke Baheibieke | Submission (armbar) | Chinese Kung Fu Championships | September 17, 2014 | 2 | 1:09 | Qian'an, China | |
| Win | 2–0 | Chunbo Yuan | TKO (punches) | RUFF 13 | June 7, 2014 | 1 | 1:26 | Shanghai, China | |
| Win | 1–0 | Nannan He | Decision (unanimous) | RUFF 12 | March 29, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Shanghai, China | Featherweight debut |
