Song Yadong headlined his second UFC event against Ricky Simon in a five-round bantamweight bout at UFC Vegas 72. The Chinese bantamweight put on a terrific showing and secured a late fifth-round stoppage win over Simon. Following his brilliant performance, Song Yadong received high praise from bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
That dude Song is a beast frfr! #UFCVegas72
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) April 30, 2023
Funkmaster reacted to Song’s performance and took to Twitter to congratulate his bantamweight rival. “That dude Song is a beast frfr!”, said Sterling on the social media platform.
Speaking about the fight, in the first round it was pretty balanced as both bantamweights were finding their range. But it was Song Yadong who found his rhythm early in the second round and started dominating Ricky Simon in the striking exchanges.
AFter this the Chinese bantamweight didn’t offer many chance to Simon to find his feet and landed some big shots in the third and fourth rounds.
https://twitter.com/FireMMAVid/status/1652499750757728256?t=dvhY8wEkJOjjeTUh3Johuw&s=19
Ricky Simon was saved by the bell in the fourth round as Yadong dished out a lot of punishment and dropped him. However, Kung Fu Kid’s striking prowess proved too hot to handle for the American bantamweight in the fifth round.
Song Yadong dropped Simon and landed some powerful ground and pound shots until referee Herb Dean decided it was enough and stopped the fight.
How would Song Yadong fare in a matchup against bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling?
Song Yadong has improved his MMA record to 20-7-1 with this knockout win over Ricky Simon at UFC Vegas 72. Before his loss to Cory Sandhagen last year, the Chinese bantamweight was on a good run and many were expecting him to challenge Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at some point.
However, his poor showing against Cory dropped him down the pecking order. Despite making a statement against Ricky Simon, Song Yadong probably has to wait a bit before getting a title shot.
The likes of Merab Dvalishvili, Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen are already waiting in line. But if Song Yadong ever faces Aljamain Sterling in a matchup, it could be very exciting to watch.
One can expect a classic striker vs grappling matchup. The key for Yadong in this match-up will probably be to use his explosive power and try to knockout Aljamain very early in the fight.
The Funkmaster has terrific ground game and if he lands a takedown it could become extremely difficult for the Chinese bantamweight to gain any kind of momentum.
As of now, this match-up seems like a distant dream for Song. But one should not rule out Yadong challenging Sterling as two statement wins over high ranked fighters might make it possible.
