A pair of former ranked UFC bantamweights will collide in August and try to get back into the win column. And perhaps the rankings as well.
MMA Junkie was first to report the news that Song Yadong and Casey Kenney will fight on August 7 at UFC 265. Kenney would confirm the news on social media.
Yadong (16-5-1) is coming off his first UFC loss. That saw him drop a unanimous decision to Kyler Phillips at UFC 259 in March. Before that loss, he defeated Marlon Vera in his only fight in 2020 and fought to a majority draw with Cody Stamann. The Chinese fighter had his No. 14 ranking taken by Phillips.
Kenney (16-3-1) had his three-fight win streak snapped against former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz on the same card Yadong suffered his loss on. Kenney had a fantastic 2020 going 3-0 with wins over Louis Smolka, Heili Alateng, and Nathaniel Wood.
A win for either fighter might get them back into the bantamweight top 15 rankings.
UFC 265 does not have an official location or venue announced currently. The card as it stands looks like this:
- Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena – for the UFC women’s bantamweight title
- Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland
- Jose Aldo vs. Pedro Munhoz
- Song Yadong vs. Casey Kenney
- Johnny Muñoz Jr. vs. Jamey Simmons
- Drako Rodriguez vs. Vince Morales
- Victoria Leonardo vs. Melissa Gatto
