Song Yadong (; born December 2, 1997) is a Chinese

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

for the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #8 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.

Background

Raised by a single mother, Song was sent to a Sanda martial arts school at the age of nine. Song eventually begun training mixed martial arts at the age of 13, making his professional debut before his sixteenth birthday.

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In November 2017, it was announced that Song Yadong would step in on short notice, to fight the first ever Indian-born fighter in the UFC and fellow debutante, Baharat Kandare at UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Gastelum in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, China. Song's UFC debut took place on the 25th November, 2017. Song landed fast counter punches, combinations and some heavy leg kicks, but at the end of the fourth minute, Song landed a right hand that knocked Khandare down, causing Khandare to reach for Song's legs to try and get a takedown; however, it was not a good attempt and Song was easily able to secure a front choke, giving Song his first UFC win and his third win by submission. In Song's second UFC fight, he faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and Muay Thai fighter,

Felipe Arantes Felipe Arantes (born 9 February 1988) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competed in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Arantes mostly fought in Brazil before signing with the U ...

on June 23, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards in Singapore. After a strong first round, with Song landing quick counter punches and securing top control after catching an Arantes' kick, the second round saw much of the same, except Arantes shot for a double-leg which ultimately resulted in Song easily shucking it off with Arantes, again, landing on his back with Song attempting an arm-triangle choke. However, with exactly a minute left in the second round, Arantes was able to force a stand up and returned to his feet. With 10 seconds remaining in the round, Arantes was being pushed against the fence and what was looking like another round being won by Song; Song landed a hard elbow, which forced Arantes to crumple onto his knees that forced the referee to jump in and end the fight, declaring Song the victor by way of technical knockout at 4:59 of the second round. With this win, Song received the Performance of the Night bonus which earned him an extra $50,000 Song was expected to face Frankie Saenz on 24 November 2018 at UFC Fight Night 141. However, it was reported on November 7, 2018 that he pulled out of the event due to injury and he was replaced by newcomer Vince Morales. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Song was scheduled to face Alejandro Pérez on March 2, 2019 at UFC 235. However, it was reported on January 11, 2019 that he pulled out due to an undisclosed reason. He was replaced by Cody Stamann. The bout with Pérez was rescheduled and eventually took place on July 6, 2019 at

UFC 239 ''UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 6, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area. Background A UFC Light Heav ...

. Song won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. Song faced Cody Stamann on December 7, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 7. After three round fight, the fight ended with a majority draw. Song faced Marlon Vera in a featherweight bout on May 16, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Both participants earned the '' Fight of the Night ''award. Song faced Kyler Phillips on March 6, 2021 at

UFC 259 ''UFC 259: Błachowicz vs. Adesanya '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Song faced Casey Kenney on August 7, 2021 at

UFC 265 ''UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 7, 2021, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background An interim UFC Heavyweight Championshi ...

. He won the fight via split decision. Song faced Julio Arce on November 13, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 197. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Song faced Marlon Moraes on March 12, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 203 ''UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 203'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 61'' or ''UFC Vegas 50'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 12, 2022 at the U ...

. He won the fight via knockout in round one. This win earned him the ''Performance of the Night'' award. Song faced Cory Sandhagen on September 17, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 210. He lost the fight via technical knockout after doctor stopped the fight.

Personal life

Song and his wife have a son.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (Four times) ** Fight of the Night (One time)

Sanda

*2011 Hebei Provincial Sanda Championship − 1st place, 60 kg

Muay Thai

*2011 National Muay Thai Championship − 5th place

Grappling

*2012 Shanghai Jiu-Jitsu Open − 4th place

Mixed martial arts record

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, China , , - , Win , align=center, 11–5 (1) , Makoto Yoshida , TKO (knees to the body and punches) , WLF W.A.R.S. 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:05 , Maerkang, China , , - , Win , align=center, 10–5 (1) , Edgars Skrivers , Decision (unanimous) , Kunlun Fight MMA 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the Nationa ...

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Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of th ...

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Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

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Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

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Alateng Heili Alateng Heili (; born December 14, 1991) is a Chinese mixed martial artist of Mongol ethnicity who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Following his father's footsteps, Alateng started wrest ...

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Sanya Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Yadong 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Harbin Sportspeople from Heilongjiang Bantamweight mixed martial artists Chinese male mixed martial artists Chinese practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Chinese sanshou practitioners Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing sanshou Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu