UFC Fight Night: Rei Tsuruya vs Kevin Borjas Preview & Prediction

Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!

Flyweight action pits grappling ace, Rei Tsuruya, against his toughest test to date in rangy finisher, Kevin Borjas.

Rei Tsuruya vs Kevin Borjas facts

What time are Rei Tsuruya and Kevin Borjas expected to walk out? 29 August 2026 at 10:15 am

Where is UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs Song? SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center, Shanghai, China

Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs Song? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 286

What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs Song on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount

Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs Song? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs Song main card

Umar Nurmagomedov vs Song Yadong (Bantamweight)

Yan Xiaonan vs Denise Gomes (Women's Strawweight)

Aori Qileng vs Kai Asakura (Bantamweight)

Su Mudaerji vs Alex Perez (Flyweight)

Liu Ce vs Levi Rodrigues Jr. (Light Heavyweight)

Bilal Hasan vs Nilson Rojas (Flyweight)

UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs Song prelims

Namsrai Batbayar vs Andre Lima (Flyweight)

Rei Tsuruya vs Kevin Borjas (Flyweight)

Jack Jenkins vs Sean Woodson (Featherweight)

Xiao Long vs Francesco Nuzzi (Bantamweight)

Lawrence Lui vs Hector Santiago (Bantamweight)

Xiong Jingnan vs Julia Polastri (Women's Strawweight)

Ding Meng vs Cameron Nelson (Welterweight)

Rei Tsuruya: The Japanese prodigy searching for a second successive win

A training partner of Tatsuro Taira, Rei Tsuruya (11-1) currently only has one loss in twelve fights as pro, a decision defeat to a certain flyweight named Joshua Van. Outside of his loss to the current champ, the Road to UFC flyweight victor has largely had his way with his opponents, leaning on his smothering grappling and relentless takedowns to drain his opponents of their will to fight. He’s known for rather suspect striking, but at 24, looks to have plenty of time to iron out that wrinkle in his game. He enters this matchup following a dominant submission victory over Luis Gurule in his last showing, locking up a rear naked choke in less than a round.

Kevin Borjas: Can the Peruvian build off an impressive upset last time out?

Despite closing as a colossal underdog in his last fight against the undefeated Andre Lima, Kevin Borjas (11-5) snapped a two fight losing streak to score the upset decision in June. It had been a rough run of form for “El Gallo Negro” prior to that, with Borjas going 1-4 with two stoppage defeats in his first five fights with the promotion. Blessed with an impressive reach despite his diminutive stature, Borjas is a powerful striker who bounces in and out of range. He’s an extremely aggressive early starter, although that state of affairs has seen him gas out on more than one occasion.

Rei Tsuruya vs Kevin Borjas prediction

This is some rough matchmaking from the UFC for Borjas. Beaten an undefeated prospect as a huge underdog to snap a two fight losing streak? Here you go, kid, here’s one of the most highly touted up and coming grapplers in the division. I mean, how do you not take this fight?

With that being said, we’ve seen Borjas triumph in the face of overwhelming odds before. He’s an excellent striker and Tsuruya’s kickboxing leaves a lot to be desired. There’s an outcome where the Peruvian stuffs the takedowns and stings Tsuruya on the back foot across three rounds to earn a decision.

However, while “El Gallo Negro” has solid takedown defense, Tsuruya is absolutely relentless with his efforts to get the action to the mat, averaging more than 5 takedowns every 15 minutes, despite only scoring them with 50% accuracy. Borjas has been taken down by fighters who aren’t even primarily wrestlers, giving up takedowns to the likes of Joshua Van and Imanol Rodriguez. The Peruvian doesn’t even have his usual reach advantage to fall back on here; Tsuruya also clocks in with a 68” reach and has a one inch height advantage to boot.

Tsuruya might fail his first few takedowns but he’s eventually going to get this one to the mat. From there, I like his chances to either find the submission or earn a dominant decision.

Prediction: Rei Tsuruya to win