Song Yadong is riding high.
On Saturday, Song scored the biggest win of his career, knocking out Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC Shanghai. Not only was it a huge upset win for Song, but it also put him right back into the title mix at 135 pounds, and it all happened in his home country. So afterward, “The Kung Fu Kid” was understandably ecstatic about the win.
“Amazing. I’m feeling amazing,” Song told UFC on Paramount+. “I feel like this is the best moment in my life, right now. I knocked out Umar. Everybody’s saying he’s the best fighter and he has very good grappling. Everyone’s saying he’s a future champion. See what happened? I knocked him out. I’m so proud of myself.”
Song was a massive underdog heading into the fight, with many believing Nurmagomedov was the next bantamweight champion. However, Song stymied Nurmagomedov’s grappling game in the first round, and in the second round, flattened the Russian fighter with an uppercut timed perfectly when Nurmagomedov changed levels for another takedown. Song said this was the plan from the beginning.
“Here I want to thank my team, Team Alpha Male, and Rudy Hernandez,” Song said. “Rudy is my boxing coach, and he told me before the fight, ‘You can finish this guy with an uppercut.’ There was an uppercut in my mind I’m looking for. There! [Laughs].”
The win makes it two in a row for Song since losing a decision to Sean O’Malley in January, and puts him on the shortlist for the next bantamweight title shot. Champion Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili are set to settle their rivalry with a trilogy bout at UFC 333 in October, with O’Malley potentially waiting in the wings for the winner. Song now seems to be next in line, meaning he could get another crack at Yan, who won a decision over him in 2024, and Song would love that.
“I like a rematch with Petr, because we fought back two years ago,” Song said. “I was too young; I was too rushed. But I feel like [I lost by] just a little bit. I can win that fight. So, if a rematch, I can also knock him out, I believe.”
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