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Rabindra Dhant is one win away from the UFC contract chase turning into a signed reality. Dhant beat Kasib Murdoch by split decision at the Road To UFC Season 5 semifinals in Shanghai on Friday, then got booked into the bantamweight final against Japan’s Ryo Tajima. The split call was narrow enough to keep the tournament stakes tense through the final score announcement. The UFC social feed called it a dig-deep win for Dhant as he moved into the final. Watch the official result post below. Dhant celebrated with the crowd after the win and kept part of his message aimed at the people back home after severe flooding in Nepal. “Jai Nepal! Jai Hanuman! Let’s go! Thank you for supporting me, all the fans, my family, thank you every sponsor.” He also addressed people back home after the flooding. “Keep your head up.” Dhant Gets One More Contract Fight Dhant entered the semifinal on a four-fight winning streak. He beat Kimbert Alintozon in the opening round of this tournament, and he previously won the Matrix Fight Night bantamweight title by beating Chungreng Koren last August. Murdoch was not a soft landing. The New Zealander came in unbeaten and had defended the Hex Fight Series bantamweight title twice before this semifinal. Dhant still found enough across three rounds to take the split and keep his regional climb moving toward a much bigger platform. UFC India’s video of Dhant dropping Murdoch in Round 3 is below. Tajima is next after beating Koren in the other bantamweight semifinal. That sets up a direct final path. If Dhant beats Tajima, he wins the eight-man Road To UFC bantamweight tournament and gets the contract that every fighter in this bracket has been chasing since the opening round. The Road To UFC format does not give prospects much room to hide. One bad night can dump a fighter out of the bracket, just like one breakout win can suddenly make the UFC deal feel close enough to grab. Dhant now has a chance to turn a regional title run and a split-decision semifinal into a UFC contract.