Song Yadong inches closer to UFC bantamweight title shot

MANILA, Philippines – The Kung Fu Kid is a few steps closer from possibly becoming China’s first male UFC champion.

Behind brilliant striking and a sound strategy, eighth-seeded bantamweight Song Yadong defeated Ricky Simon via technical knockout at the 1:10 mark of the fifth round to claim his ninth win in the UFC (overall 20-7-1, 1 no contest) last Sunday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas,.

The fight was televised live in the Philippines on the Premier Sports channel as well as on the TapGo TV streaming application.

It was a huge rebound from his loss to Cory Sandhagen in September of 2022. 

In a brawl where both fighters connected against one another, it was Song who delivered the more telling shots as he got Simon’s timing. The 25-year-old Chinese fighter dropped Simon right before the end of the fourth round then once more in the fifth. This time, the bell did not save Simon as Song rained down hammer fists on the former.

Song landed 110 strikes to the mere 64 of Simon and 105 of them were significant. Simon, on the other hand, attempted nine takedowns but was only successful in two of them. 

However, the power of Song was evident as he time and again rocked Simon, who saw his five-match win streak stopped. Simon dropped to 20-4.

With the TKO victory, Song said, "I'm so happy, I'm extremely happy tonight! Ricky is a very tough opponent but tonight is my night. Next, I want to fight a top five fighter! Sean O'Malley! Or Chito Vera, you want a rematch?"

In the co-main event of UFC Fight Night, surging middleweights Caio Borralho and Michal Oleksiejczuk came out with expected all-action performances. 

Oleksiejczuk put on the pressure, forcing Borralho to defend and get creative. Borralho went right to his Brazilian jiu jitsu in the second round, and worked his way to a rear naked choke submission victory. 

"I knew he was coming very hard. But my corner said 'He's tired' and that's when I got him. Did you like my performance? My double leg (takedown) is the best in UFC! I have the best team in the world - the fighting nerds. This is the fighting nerds takeover!" said Borralho.

Four fighters were awarded Performance of the Night — Song Yadong, Caio Borralho, Rodolfo Vieira who reversed the tide of his own fight against Cody Brundage, and Marcus McGhee, whose rear-naked choke forced Journey Newson to tap out.

Action resumes on May 7 in UFC 288 with the eagerly awaited bantamweight title bout between champion Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo. 

This fight will be televised on Premier Sports on cable television as well as on TapGo TV.