Bantamweights You Su-young and Xiao Long were the second fight in on Saturday’s UFC Shanghai prelims, which kicked off bring and early (3AM ET!) for fight fans in North America.
South Korea’s You was a Road to UFC winner from Season 3, while China’s Long had gone 1-1 in the UFC after winning his way into the promotion as part of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024. A ONE Championship veteran, Long was coming off a third-round finish of Quang Le. Following his Road to UFC win, meanwhile, Long had defeated AJ Cunningham.
You held center early, with Long very active on the outside, showing feints and plenty of footwork. You fired off a calf kick, while Long fanned on one of his own. A clinch then saw You push Long back to the fence, but Long proved difficult to control, and they came off the cage still in a clinch. They’d break, half a round still on the clock. A back-and-forth striking battle followed, which would take them to the end of the round.
More striking action arrived in the second, with Long clinching up after exchanges. He also fired off a head kick that was blocked; You, meanwhile, was initiating many of the exchanges, though Long seemed to find his footing more as the round went on. Xiao Long really picked things up in the final minute, landing a right hand, several other blows, and finishing the round strong.
Round 3 opened with more clinching and trading in close. The crowd was really behind Xiao Long, the local fave, chanting his name and erupting any time he landed. Long was on the defensive now, after arguably leading the first half of the fight. Long then began to deliver elbow after elbow in a wild standing exchange, with no fewer than 15 or even 20 elbows thrown in a sequence that made you wish Paul Felder was on hand to witness it! You stayed standing, but ate a lot of those elbows before the horn.
Despite Long finishing strong, it was You awarded the win by all three judges, no doubt on the strength of his first half. The fans, however, did not agree, letting their displeasure be known – loudly.
Official Result: You Su-young def. Xiao Long by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
