SHANGHAI - Shi Ming fell to a unanimous 30-27 decision against Bruna Brasil in the main event of the Road to UFC semifinals card here on Friday.

Shi, making her full UFC debut, faced the toughest test of her career on the biggest stage yet but was unable to build momentum or establish her offense against the taller Brazilian.

The first round started tentatively as both women felt each other out. Shi was the more active of the two, while Brasil waited to counter when Shi closed the distance. Midway through the round, Shi shot for a takedown and pushed Brasil to the fence, but Brasil defended comfortably against repeated attempts.

The second opened in similar fashion, with Shi pressing forward but struggling against Brasil's reach. Shi mixed in takedown attempts, but the round again moved to the fence after Brasil stuffed another effort before circling off and resuming her striking. Brasil landed cleanly near the end of the frame.

The third round emphasized the gap between the two. Despite Shi pushing forward aggressively to try and force an opening, Brasil looked comfortable counter-striking. By the second half of the final round, even the grappling had tilted toward the Brazilian, who attempted a takedown of her own.

The fight ended with Brasil in top position, using her size advantage to control Shi on the ground and coast to victory.

In the co-main event, Mongolia's Nyamjargal Tumendemberel put American Terrance Saeteurn to sleep with a first-round anaconda choke.

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Saeteurn, who took the fight on short notice, pressed the action early, but Tumendemberel was in control, securing a takedown before locking in the choke for the finish.

The card featured semifinals in the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight divisions.

In the bantamweight bracket, Sulang Rangbo advanced to the final with a clear decision win over Singapore's Sim Kai Xiong. He will face New Zealand's Lawrence Lui, who knocked out Vietnam's Nghiem Van Y.

In the flyweight division, China's Agulali and Yin Shuai both fell, losing to Mongolia's Namsrai Batbayar and New Zealand's Aaron Tau respectively.

In the lightweight semifinals, South Korea's Kim Sang-wook submitted China's Ren Yawei with a rear-naked choke, while Australia's Dom Mar Fan edged South Korea's Park Jae-hyun in a grappling-heavy contest.

In the featherweight division, China's Li Kaiwen faded in the later rounds of a punishing fight and dropped a unanimous decision to Japan's Keiichiro Nakamura. Nakamura will face Australian Sebastian Szalay in the final after Szalay scored a second-round TKO over Yoon Chang-min.