The City Kickboxing-trained bantamweight was initially the alternate in the eight-man draw, securing his place late in the piece when another athlete withdrew.

But he has proven himself through two rounds, following up his first-fight comeback with an emphatic second-round knockout.

Now, he’ll fight for a UFC contract at UFC 325 in Sydney this weekend.

Lui, who joined the Road To UFC bracket with a 5-1 professional mixed martial arts record, said his place in Sunday’s final was the result of a decade of work.

“A lot of training, a lot of injuries, a lot of tape around the injuries, a bit of fights – bit of everything honestly,” Lui said.

“[It’s] just like digging for gold. Sometimes you’re like, ‘oh, how much more do I have to dig?’.”

The bantamweight final, which will take place on the early prelims of UFC 325, will see Lui step into the octagon against 20-year-old Chinese fighter Sulangrangbo, who holds a 10-3 record with six wins by knockout.

Lui will be one of four City Kickboxing athletes on the card.

Aaron Tau will open the event in the flyweight Road To UFC final, middleweight Cameron Rowston will look to back up his impressive debut, while No 6-ranked lightweight Dan Hooker puts his place in the rankings on the line against No 8 Benoit Saint-Denis in the co-main event.

The card will be headlined by Australian Alexander Volkanovski, who will look to defend the featherweight championship on home soil against Brazil’s Diego Lopes.

While it’s a massive occasion, Lui was taking the opportunity in stride.

“I expect the toughest fight of my career,” he said.

“I can’t say it would mean everything because once I get there I’m going to strive for more. What it would mean for me, just a big step, but another step.”

UFC 325, Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, February 1, 2026

Main card

Main event: Alexander Volkanovski (c) v Diego Lopes (2) for the UFC featherweight championship

Lightweight: Dan Hooker (6) v Benoit Saint Denis (8)

Lightweight: Rafael Fiziev (9) v Mauricio Ruffy (14)

Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa (12) v Tallison Teixeira (15)

Lightweight: Quillan Salkilld v Jamie Mullarkey

Preliminary card

Light heavyweight: Junior Tafa v Billy Elekana

Middleweight: Cam Rowston v Cody Brundage

Middleweight: Jacob Malkoun v Torrez Finney

Welterweight: Jonathan Micallef v Oban Elliott

Early prelims

Featherweight: Kaan Ofli v Yizha

Road To UFC final match-ups will also appear on the early prelims, including NZ’s Aaron Tau and Lawrence Lui.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.