UFC Vegas 60 went down last Sat. night (Sept. 17, 2022) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving several fighters feeling the post-fight blues, including Alen Amedovski, who suffered his fourth straight loss inside the Octagon after getting stopped by Joseph Pyfer.
And Chidi Njokuani, who was was knocked out by Gregory Rodrigues in the second round of their middleweight affair (see it again here). But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
Song Yadong.
Coming into his first-ever headlining fight against Cory Sandhagen, Yadong had a great opportunity in front of him to inch closer to the Top 5 by taking out the man holding on to the No. 5 spot — and who was also a former UFC title contender.
Yadong has performed well so far in his UFC career, jumping out to an 8-1-1 record leading up to last weekend’s fight. And he looked great early on against “Sandman,” too, winning the first frame after tagging the lanky scrapper several times throughout the round. But after he suffered a nasty cut above his left eye, it appeared as though it was only a matter of time before the fight would be stopped.
The cut man did all he could to seal it closed between rounds, but every time Sandhagen connected it only opened up worse. The ringside physician also gave Yadong plenty of opportunities to keep going. But by the end of the fourth, the cut had gotten so bad it prompted the end of the fight for Yadong’s own well being. The loss is just the second of his UFC career, but it’s a big blow to his ascension up the Bantamweight ladder.
“So basically couldn’t see anything after the cut. Props to Cory Sandhagen to land that elbow. It wasn’t my night but a good fight,” he said after the fight via a social media post. “I will be back soon.”
Despite the crushing setback, Yadong is still just 24 years old, so the young fighter from China has plenty of time to build himself back up and start another run up the 135-pound ladder. He showed great technique against Sandhagen and it’s interesting to think what could have happened if fans got one more round, or if the cut never occurred.
But that’s the fight game.
As for who he should face next, perhaps a fight against Pedro Munhoz is in order. Munhoz is coming off a bizarre fight against Sean O’Malley, which was ruled a no contest (NC) after he suffered an inadvertent eye poke.
Munhoz needs a big win in the worst way because he’s just 1-4-1 in his last six outings, but it isn’t indicative of the danger he is to his opponents. Plus, he is currently ranked No. 9 in the stacked Bantamweight division, while Yadong is sitting right behind him at No. 10.
For complete UFC Vegas 60 results and coverage click here.