Song Yadong returned to winning form in the UFC with a fifth-round TKO of Ricky Simon in the bantamweight main event of a Fight Night at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 30 April 2023.
Looking to bounce back from a loss to Cory Sandhagen in September last year, ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ showcased both punching power and staying power by finishing Simon just over a minute into round five.
Despite being comfortably ahead on the score cards through three rounds, Song continued to press forward and dropped Simon with a powerful hook in the closing moments of round four. Early in round five it was clear that Simon was still compromised from that blow, and Song took full advantage with another flurry of strikes that ultimately led to a ground-and-pound finish.
Yet the Chinese fighter’s victory was not without controversy, as he was warned by referee Herb Dean for both a headbutt and a low blow in the first half of the fight.
“I'm so happy, I'm extremely happy tonight," Song said during his post-fight interview. "Ricky is a very tough opponent and tonight is my night. Next, I want to fight a top-five fighter!”
Pressed by commentator Daniel Cormier, Song suggested a fight with Sean O'Malley or a rematch against Marlon Vera next.
The rest of the main card saw middleweights Caio Borralho and Rodolfo Vieira both claim submission wins over Michal Oleksiejczuk and Cody Brundage respectively; Fernando Padilla stopped Julian Erosa in the first round of their featherweight fight; Marcos Rogerio de Lima out-pointed Waldo Cotres-Acosta over three rounds in the heavyweight division; and Trey Waters defeated Joshua Quinlan via unanimous decision in a welterweight opener.
The next event is UFC 288, set for the Prudential Centre in New Jersey on the morning of Sunday 7 May, headlined by a match for the bantamweight championship between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo.
UFC Fight Night: Song v Simon – Main card results
- Main event: Bantamweight: Song Yadong def. Ricky Simon via TKO (punches), R5, 1:10
- Middleweight: Caio Borralho def. Michal Oleksiejczuk via submission (rear-naked choke), R2, 2:49
- Middleweight: Rodolfo Vieira def. Cody Brundage via submission (arm-triangle choke), R2, 1:28
- Featherweight: Fernando Padilla def. Julian Erosa via TKO (punches), R1, 1:41
- Heavyweight: Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Waldo Cotres-Acosta via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00
- Welterweight: Trey Waters def. Joshua Quinlan via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 30-27), R3, 5:00