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Live sport on SN this weekend‘King of Nepal’: Kiwi UFC hopeful sparks fury - and a security lockdown
Stephen Foote • August 27th, 2026 3:34 pm
Kasib Murdoch | Photo: Instagram/@kasib_murdoch
Kiwi UFC hopeful Kasib Murdoch has been making his presence felt in Shanghai - in more ways than one.
The 25-year-old is in China to compete in the semi-final of the Road to UFC tournament, with a multi-fight contract awaiting its winner.
Standing in Murdoch's path to the final is highly touted Nepalese prospect Rabindra Dhant, and he's been dangerously diligent in getting the war of words underway, inciting not just his opponent - but the nation behind him.
With his DMs overflowing with all manner of taunts from Dhant's compatriots, Murdoch ignited a bonfire by posting an image on Instagram holding the Nepal flag declaring "the King of Nepal is coming to Shanghai".
The result has been a flood of hatred on social media, with the types of threats which have had UFC security take the precautionary measure of restricting him from leaving the confines of his Shanghai hotel.
"As soon as the fight got announced, my DMs and all my socials were already getting flooded from Nepalese people abusing me," Murdoch told Sport Nation's Fight Club Podcast.
"I thought I'd try and stir the pot a little bit to try and create some drama, because it's entertainment at the end of the day as well as fighting.
"It has worked very well except I got told that I wasn't allowed to leave."
One unhappy customer promised: "If we see you in Shanghai, there'll be 200 of us with bats."
Dhant's coach also weighed into the drama, responding to the post with a chilling reminder of "you know what happens to kings in Nepal", a reference to the nation's overthrown monarchy in 2008.
It's the kind of gimmick you'd expect from Murdoch, whose passion for professional wrestling initially led him to the combat world.
He represented New Zealand in boxing at the Olympic Youth Games in Buenos Aires, before making the transition to training the entire gamut of mixed martial arts.
Earning gold in the IMAAF amateur world championships on the strength of five wins in as many days sealed his desire to make fighting his profession, and his ensuing move across the ditch to train at world renowned Freestyle MMA alongside the great Alexander Volkanovski and under trainer Joe Lopes has seen his development set to fast-forward.
"I moved over there not knowing anyone really. I was like, 'oh I'm probably going to go over here, run out of money and have to move back home and then get back to work and then try again.
How Kiwi UFC hopeful Kasib Murdoch incited a nation | Fight Club
"But I ended up getting some part-time work over there and obviously some of the coaches and stuff and people around me helped me out which I'm extremely grateful for, and then all that's just led into me being able to be a professional fighter and put everything into this.
"It's been huge in my development and then I've been surrounded by some of the best fighters in the world and best coaches in the world. I'm getting mentored by, literally, the greatest fighter from this side of the world."
And the fruits of that expert tutelage have been evident. Murdoch is undefeated through all eight of his pro bouts to date, finishing seven of those inside the distance.
His most recent came in his Road to UFC opener back in May, submitting Japan's Yunosuke Minami with a slick arm triangle choke.
He's aiming for another quick night out against the experienced Dhant, who will be his most stern test to date.
Training out of Bali's Soma Fight Club under New Zealand's own Mike Ikilei, enters the bout fresh off three KO finishes, boasting an overall record of 10-1.
As you'd expect, Murdoch is confident he has the answers to the test.
"I'm going to get it finished in the late second round," he predicted.
"The first round is going to be kind of competitive. I'm going to win it. It'll mainly be to get him working hard, getting him tired.
"Second round, I'm going to break him. I want to find either, TKO or a sub."
Listen to the full interview below:
