Dagestan fighter Umar Nurmagomedov has a clear plan laid out for himself in his next couple of fights in the UFC Bantamweight division, as he prepares to take on Song Yadong at UFC Fight Night at the Oriental Sports Centre in Shanghai on Saturday.
Main card set to commence at 12:00pm (CAT, GMT+2).
Nurmagomedov (20-1-0) enters his next fight on the back of a unanimous decision win over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC324 in January, where the two fighters partook in a Catchweight 138.5 pound limit event after the latter missed weight.
Prior to his fight with Figueiredo, Nurmagomedov claimed a unanimous decision victory over Mario Bautista at UFC321 in October 2025 as he continued his resurgence in the Bantamweight class.
As for Song (23-9-1), the Chinese star likewise defeated Figueiredo in his most recent fight, claiming a dramatic guillotine submission win at UFC Fight Night in May.
Despite being only 28-years-old, Song has already faced several big names in the UFC, including Sean O’Malley, Henry Cejudo and Petr Yan.
Amid fighting Song this weekend, Nurmagomedov already put one eye on his next fight as he seeks revenge against former Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili was on the end of Nurmagomedov’s first career defeat in January last year and believes that their lasting feud has become personal after the Georgian questioned his title credentials.
“First of all, of course I have to win this fight,” Nurmagomedov said.
“Then I will fight with Merab, if he will win or if he will lose, I think we're going to fight.
“Is it personal? I think yes. Already yes. Now it's personal. Now it's personal not just for me.
“It's personal for all of Dagestan.”
UFC Fight Night main card:
Umar Nurmagomedov v Song Yadong (Main event – Bantamweight)
Yan Xiaonan v Denis Gomes (Women Strawweight)
Qileng Aori v Kai Asakura (Bantamweight)
Alex Perez v Su Mudaerji (Flyweight)