Levi Rodrigues Jr. vs. Ce Liu
UFC Fight Night · August 29, 2026 · SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center · Main Card 6:00 AM ET
The brief
- What kind of fight
- Kickboxer vs. Finisher
- Finish likelihood
- High
- The line
- Jr. +170 · Liu -205Consensus (multiple sportsbooks)
- The stakes
- Light Heavyweight · Main Card
The read
Both men look to end this early rather than play it safe over three rounds.
Liu's reach and kickboxing pedigree give him a real tool to pick Rodrigues apart on the way in, while Rodrigues has never needed a judges' scorecard to win and can change the fight with one clean combination or a takedown into ground-and-pound.
Rodrigues took real damage in his own UFC debut loss to Felipe Franco, a mark against him on short notice against another live finisher, so lean a fast, high-finish-likelihood fight that has a real chance of ending inside the first two rounds either way.
The matchup
Junior Tafa's withdrawal brings in Levi Rodrigues Jr., another finisher with heavy hands, so the stylistic shape of this fight stays similar even with a new opponent.
Ce Liu's kickboxing background and reach give him tools to work at range against the UFC-debuting-turned-sophomore Rodrigues, who has stopped every win of his career but was finished himself in his own UFC debut in July 2026.
Whoever controls range and forces the other into an uncomfortable exchange first has the clearer path to a finish.
Tale of the tape
| 5-1-0 | Record | 3-1-0 |
| — | Age | 29 |
| 6'0" | Height | 6'5" |
| 76.5" | Reach | 78" |
| — | Stance | — |
| Brazil | Country | China |
| — | Team | Tangshan Buntai |
The numbers
Career UFC averages. Red bar = statistical edge.
The fighters
Levi Rodrigues Jr. 5-1-0
“Baby Monster”
Levi 'Baby Monster' Rodrigues Jr. is a Brazilian light heavyweight from Braganca Paulista, Sao Paulo with a Muay Thai black belt and a habit of finishing every win of his career. He knocked out Freddy Vidal on Dana White's Contender Series to earn his UFC contract, though that result was later overturned to a no contest after he tested positive for a metabolite of nandrolone. He dropped his UFC debut to fellow Brazilian Felipe Franco by second-round TKO in July 2026 and steps in on short notice against Ce Liu in Shanghai after Junior Tafa withdrew from the bout.
- LFelipe Franco · TKO (punches and elbows)UFC Fight Night: Du Plessis vs. Usman · July 18, 2026
- NCFreddy Vidal · No contest (overturned decision)Dana White's Contender Series · October 15, 2025
- WAlan Ribeiro · TKO (left hook)LFA 216 · September 5, 2025
Ce Liu 3-1-0
Ce Liu is a Chinese kickboxer-turned-mixed martial artist out of Tangshan making his UFC debut off the back of a first-round TKO of Igor Barabanov on the regional circuit in May 2026. His lone professional loss came by second-round knockout to Ivan Gnizditskiy in 2024. All three of his wins have come by knockout, and he now faces short-notice replacement Levi Rodrigues Jr. after Junior Tafa withdrew from the original pairing.
- WIgor Barabanov · TKO (punches)WLF MMA 94 · May 1, 2026
- LIvan Gnizditskiy · KO (punches)Happy Elephant MMA · October 1, 2024