Song Yadong Submits Ex-Champion Figueiredo in Round 2 as Pavlovich Scores 39-Second KO
Updated
Updated · ESPN · May 30
Song Yadong Submits Ex-Champion Figueiredo in Round 2 as Pavlovich Scores 39-Second KO
17 articles · Updated · ESPN · May 30
4:42 into Round 2, Song Yadong trapped Deiveson Figueiredo in a guillotine choke after a takedown attempt, beating a second former UFC champion in 15 months in the UFC Macau main event.
China framed the win as much as the ranking stakes: Song fought at home for the first time since 2018 and told the crowd he would take any top-10 bantamweight the UFC offers next.
Figueiredo, 38, fell to 25-7-1 and has now lost four of his past five fights after opening his bantamweight run with three straight wins.
39 seconds was all Sergei Pavlovich needed earlier on the card, dropping Tallison Teixeira with three overhand rights for his third straight victory and then calling for a title shot against the Gane-Pereira winner.
After submitting a legend in his homeland, what's stopping Song Yadong from a bantamweight title shot now?
At 38, is former champion Deiveson Figueiredo's loss a sign that the UFC's bantamweight division has moved on?
With a sold-out Macau event, has the UFC found its permanent 'launch pad' for dominating the Asian sports market?