Tag: Song Yadong

Henry Cejudo Sends 4-Word Warning To Song Yadong After Confirmation Of UFC Seattle Headliner

Henry Cejudo is set to return to the Octagon on February 22 where he will once again look to earn his first win since deciding to comeback from his 2020 retirement. “Triple C” has suffered back-to-back losses in consecutive years to teammates Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili who are the former and current holders of […]

Henry Cejudo is set to return to the Octagon on February 22 where he will once again look to earn his first win since deciding to comeback from his 2020 retirement. “Triple C” has suffered back-to-back losses in consecutive years to teammates Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili who are the former and current holders of the bantamweight title.

Following multiple reports, it has since been confirmed by the UFC that Cejudo will headline the promotion’s long awaited return to Seattle when he faces off with Song Yadong over five rounds at the Climate Pledge Arena. The former two-weight champion is currently ranked one spot above China’s Yadong in the top-15 rankings at 135-pounds, occupying the #7-position.

With Yadong coming off of a loss to Petr Yan at UFC 299 in March last year, this is a massive opportunity for him to regain some serious momentum by earning the biggest win of his career to date against one of the top names in the lower weight classes. Cejudo, on the other hand, seemingly has a lot at stake in this contest.

For as much as his return has been stifled by back-to-back losses, losing to the titleholder at the time and the man that would go on to become the champion are two defeats that he can bounce back from. The 37-year old has been fighting either champions or the top contenders for a long time so suffering a third consecutive defeat to the #8-ranked guy would be a tough moment for him to bounce back from.

Despite what this might could mean for his career, anyone expecting a more serious version of “Triple C” appears to be mistaken. His first message on social media after the fight was confirmed followed the same pattern that fight fans have to expect from Cejudo.

Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong Headlines UFC Seattle, Dominick Cruz Returns In Co-Main Event

Next month’s UFC Fight Night in Seattle looks likely to be a key one in the context of the bantamweight division. The mixed martial arts leader will head to Washington to close out its February schedule from the Climate Pledge Arena, where multiple former champions and ranked contenders will be in action. Prior to this […]

Next month’s UFC Fight Night in Seattle looks likely to be a key one in the context of the bantamweight division.

The mixed martial arts leader will head to Washington to close out its February schedule from the Climate Pledge Arena, where multiple former champions and ranked contenders will be in action.

Prior to this week, Edson Barboza vs. Steve Garcia, Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez, and Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev marked some of the bouts already announced. And now, the Seattle event on Feb. 22 has its main and co-main events set.

UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell confirmed to ESPN Monday that former two-division champion Henry Cejudo (16-4) will return in the main event, sharing the cage with fellow top 10 bantamweight contender Song Yadong (21-8-1, 1 NC). The matchup was first reported earlier in the day by @realkevink on X.

Campbell also revealed to Mike Coppinger that the co-headliner will see legendary 135lber Dominick Cruz (24-4) compete for the first time in over two years. The former UFC and WEC champion is slated to do battle with a fellow veteran in Rob Font (21-8), which could mark Cruz’s “last dance” if his most recent comments on a comeback prove true.

With these additions, the current fights expected to take place at the UFC Fight Night in Seattle on Feb. 22 are as follows:

  • Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong (bantamweight main event)
  • Rob Font vs. Dominick Cruz (bantamweight co-main event)
  • Edson Barboza vs. Steve Garcia (featherweight)
  • Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez (middleweight)
  • Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev (heavyweight)
  • Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan (featherweight)
  • Ion Cutelaba vs. Ibo Aslan (light heavyweight)
  • Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov (welterweight)
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira (light heavyweight)
  • Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trócoli (middleweight)

Watch: Song Yadong and Helen Yee throwdown in Table Tennis as he preps for January bout against Umar Nurmagomedov

Helen Yee Ping Pong Song Yadong Table TennisUFC athlete Song Yadong left the octagon behind and picked up the table tennis paddle as he battles interviewer…

Helen Yee Ping Pong Song Yadong Table Tennis

UFC athlete Song Yadong left the octagon behind and picked up the table tennis paddle as he battles interviewer Helen Yee at the table. The Chinese-born ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ also explained his game plan for facing Umar Nurmagomedov in January.

Song Yadong and Helen Yee in Ping Pong

Below, you can watch the full clip of Helen Yee and Song Yadong playing table tennis.

Song Yadong vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

The 26-year-old Song Yadong is competing in one of the most competitive weight classes in the UFC; bantamweight. At the top stands the champion Merab Dvalishvili who just earned UFC gold from Sean O’Malley. China’s Yadong has losses to the top-ranked Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen but has ten wins in the organization.

Song Yadong

It was rumored that he was to be fighting Olympian and former champion Henry Cejudo next. Yadong explained why this fight was called off. Speaking with Helen Yee he said, “Henry got injured. I don’t know what happened, but he didn’t want to fight me.”

Instead, it sounds as though Yadong will face the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov, cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov, in January. The Chinese-born athlete explained, “I’ll fight in January, no matter who it is. I’ll make a good show for everyone … He’s a good fighter, but I believe I can beat him … I think it will be a tough fight. He’s hard to finish, but I believe I’ll win.”

Petr Yan snaps losing skid, lands impressive decision win over Song Yadong – UFC 299 Highlights

Petr Yan snaps losing skid with impressive decision win over Song Yadong at UFC 299 HighlightsFormer undisputed bantamweight champion, Petr Yan is back in the winning column for the first time since his 2021…

Petr Yan snaps losing skid with impressive decision win over Song Yadong at UFC 299 Highlights

Former undisputed bantamweight champion, Petr Yan is back in the winning column for the first time since his 2021 interim title fight win over Cory Sandhagen, turning in an impressive unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) victory over surging Chinese contender, Song Yadong in the main card opener of UFC 299.

Yan, who had been sidelined from the Octagon for a year to the date tonight — had most recently suffered a hugely one-sided loss to current number one contender, Merab Dvalishvili in a high-profile main event clash last March.

Petr Yan Song Yadong UFC 299 2
Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger – Zuffa LLC

The defeat came as Dudinka native, Yan’s third on the trot following a pair of undisputed bantamweight title fight losses to former champion, Aljamain Sterling.

However, back to his glittering best tonight in Florida, Russian favorite, Yan knocked back the surging, Yadong in an impressive decision win — utilizing his counter striking as well as landing a host of eye-catching takedowns and scrambling well when called upon.

Petr Yan Song Yadong UFC 299
Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger – Zuffa LLC

Staking his claim for a high-profile outing in his next walk, Yan called for a top-5 opponent off the back of his decision win over Yadong.

Below, catch the highlights from Petr Yan’s win at UFC 299

Petr Yan mocks Song Yadong’s UFC Vegas 83 win, call out: ‘I knock you out’

Song Yadong Petr Yan UFC Vegas 83After a smothering victory over the red-hot Chris Gutierrez at UFC Vegas 83, Song Yadong continued to show off…

Song Yadong Petr Yan UFC Vegas 83

After a smothering victory over the red-hot Chris Gutierrez at UFC Vegas 83, Song Yadong continued to show off his newly-found apparent mastery of the English language by absolutely flaming the former UFC bantamweight champion on live-TV: Petr Yan.

Song Yadong came into UFC Vegas 83 in dire need of a victory. Not only did Yadong emerge from the cage victorious, but he also emerged as a young superstar. While many hardcore fans might have been sold on the young Chinese fighter for many years now, the casual MMA fan now knows the potential of this young stud. While the fight may have been gritty and lackluster in many places, it was still a beautiful exhibition of skill.

Song Yadong mixed the martial arts he’s been refining for many years into an elegant blend of sinister mayhem at UFC Vegas 83. He was everywhere, and nowhere at all. The elite and dangerous Chris Gutierrez came into the match with what some may call the world’s largest chip on his shoulder. He was fighting for his child; in an effort to prove his worth as a parent, and an adversary. These are words not chosen by us, but shared by Gutierrez himself in the leadup to the match.

Yet, Yadong was an indomitable force inside the cage. For as much emotion as Gutierrez carried into the matchup, it was ruled ineffective. Song Yadong defeated his opponent with a masterful blend of mixed martial arts. Nothing more, and nothing less.

The former bantamweight champion Petr Yan reacted to the fight with a yawning emoji, but that’s most likely to disguise Yan’s real feelings. Which, one could imagine would look a lot more like the flushed-face emoji. An emoji that is commonly used to show fear and awe.

Song Yadong burns Petr Yan, issues a warning to the former bantamweight champion

During his post-fight interview, the former champion Petr Yan tweeted a yawning emoji. This was obviously in direct reference to Song Yadong’s performance.

Inside the cage, Paul Felder (who was conducting the interview) asked Yadong how he felt about that disrespect, and the young Chinese superstar reacted brilliantly. Without the need for his translator to finish speaking, Yadong sneered and took the microphone. “Your last fight too, bro,” Yadong replied casually. This inspired Felder and the translator to let loose a wild laugh, as many fans watching at home probably did at that same moment as well.

“Sheit, (you and your last fight) look sheit!” Song Yadong continued, in near-perfect English. “Sometimes, (people have lackluster performances) you know. (If we) fight next, I knock you out… Boxing, your boxing is good? Ok, let’s go. Let’s try it! Who has the heaviest hands?”

“I’m coming!” Song Yadong ended, in what was truly a glorious call-out. Following up on what was no doubt the biggest performance of his young career, Yadong also made sure to resonate with English-speaking fans more than he ever has before. This is important for an international superstar, as history has shown how fans can fail to appreciate greatness because of things such as language barriers.

How blown away were you by Song Yadong’s post-fight interview?

Song Yadong dominates Chris Gutierrez en route to unanimous Decision victory: UFC Vegas 83 (Highlights)

Song YadongHeadling the final UFC Fight Night of 2023 was a high-stakes bantamweight clash between Chris Gutierrez and Song Yadong….

Song Yadong

Headling the final UFC Fight Night of 2023 was a high-stakes bantamweight clash between Chris Gutierrez and Song Yadong.

Both fighters stepped inside The APEX in Las Vegas looking to build on their prior wins and go into 2024 with back-to-back victories. Gutierrez is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Alatengheili in October while Song’s last appearance produced a solid fifth-round knockout against Ricky Simon in August.

Things started relatively slow between the two 135’ers, with both looking to attack the lead leg early. Throughout the contest, Song maintained control of the Octagon and dictated the pace, but things remained fairly even until we entered the later rounds.

In the fourth, Song Yadong managed to catch a leg kick from Gutierrez and sweep his other leg out from under him, quickly getting top control for the first time in the fight. Song was content to keep the dominant position for the remainder of the round.

As we went into the fifth, Gutierrez decided to go for a Hail Mary leg lock, but Song saw it coming a mile away and quickly got back into top control. Gutierrez tried his best to move back toward the cage wall, but Song managed to keep him pinned to the ground, peppering him with hammer fits until the final horn sounded.

Official Result: Song Yadong def. Chris Gutierrez via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-45)

Check Out Highlights From Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez at UFC Vegas 83 Below: