Song Yadong

Song Yadong needed this win, perhaps more badly than most realize. He’s still just 28 years old, but he was given ample opportunities to break through against names like Cory Sandhagen, Petr Yan and most recently, Sean O’Malley, and he has fallen short every time. This was another main event, this time in his home country against an older veteran who was 1-3 in his last 4 outings coming into this bout. It was an important win, but it shouldn’t propel Song back into title contention; he needs to do more to earn yet another kick at the can. I think beating a younger, streaking up-and-comer like David Martinez would be much more restorative to his stock.

Song’s next fight: David Martinez

Alonzo Menifield

With this win, “Atomic” Menifield’s last three victories have come against then 25-year-old Julius Walker, then 29-year-old Oumar Sy and now 27-year-old Zhang Mingyang. While most people will look at this as an indictment on the light-heavyweight division, there is something to be said for Menifield being an undying litmus test for these guys. He’s proven to be the Neil Magny, Dan Ige, Angela Hill-type gatekeeper for the 205ers and that’s a very respectable role to have. There are some upcoming fights featuring light-heavyweight prospects, Iwo Baraniewski, Navajo Stirling, and Abdul-Rahman Yakhyaev. With a win, I think by far the most deserving of ranked opposition would be Navajo Stirling.

Menifield’s next fight: Stirling/Cutelaba winner

Sergei Pavlovich

My main takeaway from this fight is that it was fun to see the Pavlovich of old. Not since April of 2023 had we seen Pavlovich as his bulldozing self. After back-to-back losses to Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov, his confidence took a massive hit and he was fighting tentatively. However, not one person actually believed Tallison Teixeira was worthy of an opportunity like this one, so the fight had squash match written all over it and the result speaks for itself. This doesn’t really move Pavlovich forward; it more or less keeps him posted in the division’s top5. A highlight-reel like this may at least get him a shot against the loser of the White House co-main event.

Pavlovich’s next fight: Pereira/Gane loser

Kai Asakura

It took two losses, a division change and a significant drop in opposition level, but alas, there it is: Kai Asakura’s first UFC win. Cam Smotherman is a respectable, but far from elite opponent, so who’s to say what this win ultimately will do for the Japanese fighter. What I believe the UFC was aiming for, here, was to get Asakura a win to get his confidence back. When he’s fighting with his usual swagger, Asakura can be an incredibly exciting fighter. I think Charles Jourdain is the perfect name to throw at him. He’s still unranked, but it’s a clear step up in competition from Smotherman and would immediately become of the coolest, most acrobatic fights on the UFC calendar.

Asakura’s next fight: Charles Jourdain

Jake Matthews

This was Matthews’ first fight since his collapse against Neil Magny last September. While he successfully rebounded, I am not convinced that this performance against Carlston Harris was enough to take away the bitter taste from that last loss. Facing and defeating someone like Nicolas Dalby might provide the redemption Matthews is looking for since the Danish fighter has a similar grinding style to Magny.

Matthews’s next fight: Nicolas Dalby

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Only one fight on the night’s main card went the distance (though one other, Alex Perez vs. Su Mudaerj, ended early due to a groin strike). That was Jake Matthews vs. Carlston Harris. On the prelims, five of seven bouts ended inside the distance.

With plenty of action to choose from, the UFC went with headliner Song Yadong, and former title challenger Kai Asakura, when the time for Performance of the Night bonuses arrived. In Song’s case, he submitted Deiveson Figueiredo in the second round with a guillotine choke, rebounding from a loss to Sean O’Malley earlier this year.

It was the lone bright spot for China on the UFC Macau card – while Japanese fighters fared well, every other Chinese star suffered defeat.

Speaking of Japanese stars, Kai Asakura’s move to bantamweight paid off. He absolutely crushed Cameron Smotherman, dropping the American and knocking him out inside of a round. After losing his first two UFC bouts including an immediate flyweight title shot upon arrival from RIZIN, Asakura finally looked like a viable contender on Saturday, though steps up in competition will be necessary moving forward.

Fight of the Night honors at UFC Macau went to Alonzo Menified and Zhang Mingyang, with their light heavyweight brawl landing just shy of the round. Menifield came out on top in that one.

All four bonus-winners earn $100,000 U.S. for their efforts. All other finishers pick up $25,000. That list is comprised of Sergei Pavlovich, Luis Felipe Dias, Cody Haddon, Rei Tsuruya, Rodrigo Vera, and Jaqueline Amorim.

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Round 1 – Yadong immediately took the center of the cage and started pressuring Figueiredo, who stayed patient waiting for counter opportunities. Through the opening minute, the only real offense came from a leg kick by Song as both fighters carefully felt each other out.

Song stayed composed and methodical, continuing to chip away with leg kicks while trying to draw reactions out of Figueiredo. Figueiredo answered with a teep kick and a leg kick of his own, but largely remained on the back foot. He eventually exploded forward with a quick right hook before immediately getting back out of range.

Song kept stalking forward, following Figueiredo around the cage while targeting the legs and body. Figueiredo attempted a takedown midway through the round, but Song easily stuffed it without much trouble.

As the pressure increased, Song began landing cleaner shots while forcing Figueiredo backward. Figueiredo briefly thought about another shot before the two reset once again in the center of the octagon.

With under 30 seconds remaining, Song threw a head kick that missed badly and caused him to slip to the canvas. Figueiredo quickly jumped into top position to close the round.

Not exactly the best look for Song heading into the break.

Round 2 – Yadong went right back to applying pressure in the second round, while Figueiredo tried to slow things down by circling laterally and forcing Song toward the fence while throwing wild kicks from range.

Song cracked Figueiredo with a clean right hand as the former flyweight champion briefly considered shooting for a takedown. Moments later, Figueiredo threw a body kick that Song caught before taking him to the mat. Song landed heavy right hands from the top before Figueiredo scrambled back to his feet.

Figueiredo then ate a clean straight right from Song that got a loud reaction from the crowd. Song continued chopping at the legs while cutting the cage off effectively against his opponent. Song rushed forward again, and when Figueiredo attempted another takedown, he instead ran directly into another hard right hand as the fight stayed standing.

Song landed another leg kick that opened up an opportunity for Figueiredo to shoot in on a takedown, but Song immediately locked up a guillotine choke.

The Urijah Faber coached contender cinched the submission so tightly that Figueiredo tapped almost instantly once the choke was fully locked in.

Song Yadong ended up scoring the first and only victory for China on the night.

Official Result: Song Yadong def. Deiveson Figueiredo via R2 SUB (Guillotine), 4:42

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The UFC Macau main event offers the opportunity for one headliner to return to the win column, as both men enter off single losses. For Song Yadong, that came back in January opposite ex-champ Sean O’Malley. For former flyweight champion Figueiredo, he dropped a fight to Umar Nurmagomedov last time out.

A couple for former flyweight title challengers also feature on the card, as Kai Asakura faces Cameron Smotherman (at bantamweight), while Alex Perez takes on Su Mudaerj. The co-main event, meanwhile, finds Chinese light heavyweight Zhang Mingyang paired up with Alonzo Menifield.

All fighters made weight for UFC Macau. Results can be found below.

UFC Macau: Song vs. Figueiredo Weigh-In Results

Main card

Bantamweight: Song Yadong (136) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (135.5)
Light Heavyweight: Zhang Mingyang (205) vs. Alonzo Menifield (206)
Heavyweight: Sergei Pavlovich (257) vs. Tallison Teixeira (250)
Bantamweight: Kai Asakura (135.5) vs. Cameron Smotherman (135.5)
Welterweight: Jake Matthews (170) vs. Carlston Harris (170.5)
Flyweight: Alex Perez (125.5) vs. Su Mudaerji (126)

Preliminary card

Middleweight: Lee Yi-sak (185) vs. Luis Felipe Dias (184.5)
Welterweight: Ding Meng (170.5) vs. José Henrique Souza (170.5)
Bantamweight: Aori Qileng (135) vs. Cody Haddon (135)
Bantamweight: Rei Tsuruya (135) vs. Luis Gurule (135)
Women’s Strawweight: Angela Hill (115) vs. Xiong Jingnan (115.5)
Featherweight: Zhu Kangjie (145) vs. Rodrigo Vera (145)
Women’s Strawweight: Loma Lookboonmee (115) vs. Jaqueline Amorim (115.5)

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Yadong (22-9-1, 1NC) faces off against former flyweight champ Deiveson Figuiredo in the card’s main event, a fighter he’s previously trained alongside.

After walking past his opponent during media day on Wednesday, Yadong noted that “I felt nothing special, he’s more like my friend. Because about three or four months ago, we were together in the same fight camp for my last fight. When we did our face-off Tuesday, I felt we were like tourists to Macau.”

That said, Yadong went on to clarify that he still plans on finishing the fight. “He’s like my friend, he’s not really my friend. And this time he’s my opponent, and I will be 100% focused on finishing him.”

In his last fight, Figueiredo suffered a loss at the hands of Umar Nurmagomedov. Yadong, for his part, suggested that “for his last fight, I don’t think he [Figueiredo] was in very good shape because of weight cutting. And during the fight, he was too uptight. I think in the fight this week, he’s in much better shape, because he’s been in China before.”

If Figueiredo should miss weight ahead of UFC Macau? Yadong would welcome the extra money in terms of the ensuing fine, as long as the weight miss isn’t too much. Overall, he doesn’t seem worried about it.

Song Yadong is, if not worried, admittedly aware of the pressure on him fighting at home in China on Saturday, while looking to get back in the win column himself. That’s following a loss to Sean O’Malley earlier this year.

“This fight is a very important fight for me, and I watched my opponent’s fight with Petr Yan, and it was an exciting fight,” stated Yadong, no doubt wanting to avoid a second consecutive loss in the hot 135lb division. “But for me, every fight is a new fight: new opponent, new people, and a new arena. I’m confident I can win this fight, because I trust my skills on the feet and on the ground.”

Watch the full UFC Macau media day appearance by Song Yadong above.

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After the original co-main event of Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison fell apart, thanks to an injury to Harrison, Sean O’Malley took on Song Yadong in the slot. Song ended up dropping the pivotal bantamweight scrap. And in the main event, Justin Gaethje finally realized UFC gold as he captured the lightweight interim UFC strap. On the losing side, Paddy Pimblett, who was battered and dropped over the course of 25 minutes. Five ranked losers on the first edition of losers for 2026!

Paddy Pimblett

Justin Gaethje disfigured his opponent and scored multiple knockdowns against Paddy Pimblett on his way to a unanimous decision victory on Saturday night. Paddy had a great showing but ultimately Gaethje’s striking proved to be just too much against “the Baddy” from Liverpool. The loss, Paddy’s first in the UFC, snaps a nine-fight win streak dating back to his Cage Warrior days. Pimblett is now 7-1 with the promotion. He entered the fight ranked at #5 (Gaethje was #4).

Paddy has a few options for his next fight. The opponent that he draws depends on his healing time, UFC brass and upcoming fight outcomes. Paddy will most likely draw the loser of Dan Hooker vs Benoit Saint-Denis (Also possible: Loser of #9 Rafael Fiziev vs. #14 Mauricio Ruffy or Loser of #3 Max Holloway vs. #2 Charles Oliveira).

That fight goes down January 31st on UFC 325, so the timing would be perfect. Hooker is ranked at #6 in the division and coming off a second-round submission loss to Arman Tsarukyan in November. He’s 3-1 in his last four fights. Benoit Saint-Denis is riding a 3-fight win streak but is also 3-1 in his last four fights. BSD is ranked at #8. Giving Paddy the loser of this bout gives him a manageable name within the top 10, that’s a striking first fighter. Fight could easily be on a PPV main card or the main event of a fight night card. Winner would be right back in a title eliminator bout.

Pimblett’s next fight: Dan Hooker vs Benoit Saint-Denis Loser

Song Yadong

Sean O’Malley turned in a solid night’s work as he out struck Song Yadong on his way to a unanimous decision victory. Song is now 11-4-1 and has lost two of his last four. To be fair, Song’s last three fights have all been against former (and now current) champions (Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, Sean O’Malley).  Song entered the fight with a #5 ranking while O’Malley was ranked at #3. The 28-year-old is so close to a title shot he just needs one more win against that elite level competition.

Perfect next fight for Yadong would be against Deiveson Figueiredo. Figgy also fought on UFC 324, but he was in the feature prelim spot taking on Umar Nurmagomedov. Deiveson lost a unanimous decision. He entered the fight ranked at #6 while Umar was ranked at #2. Timing works out great, and so does rankings, only question mark here is that Figgy missed weight ahead of the bout. Still seems like a safe one to book, as Deiveson is the former flyweight champion and has already moved up in weight. This could easily be the main event of a fight night card, and the winner would get a title eliminator fight.

Yadong’s next fight: Deiveson Figueiredo

Derrick Lewis

Waldo Cortes-Acosta mostly had his way with Lewis on Saturday, toying with the veteran on the feet before finally scoring the ground n’ pound finish in the second. Rough outcome for Derrick as the #8 ranked heavyweight on the roster, he was getting a shot at the #5 guy. And Cortes-Acosta was coming off of a massive year last year, with lots of momentum (4-1 within 2025). To make matters worse, the loss also snaps a 2-fight win/finish streak (over Rodrigo Nascimento and Tallison Teixeira) which had gotten Lewis back on track from a 2-5 stretch just prior.

With all that in mind, Derrick’s next fight should be against Josh Hokit. Yes, it should be back to gate keeper status for the 40-year-old fan favorite KO-king. Hokit, a former NFL player and Contender Series product won his second UFC fight against Denzel Freeman in the second fight on the card. Josh has stopped all eight men that he’s faced thus far as a pro and has cut some ‘interesting’ promos while doing it. Who better to face him off against than the “Black Beast.” Also, Josh called for Waldo during his post-fight interview. I don’t know how much sense that matchup makes, but a bout against Lewis certainly does. This is another one where the timing matches up great and it could potentially be a co-main event on a Fight Night if the promotion would like to push Hokit.

Lewis’s next fight: Josh Hokit

Rose Namajunas

Natalia Silva outpointed former UFC strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas, on her way to one of the most impressive victories of her career. Rose entered the fight ranked at #6 in the women’s flyweight division while Natila was ranked at #2. Rose is now 3-3 since moving to flyweight in 2023 and 12-7 under the promotional banner as a whole.

With that in mind, Rose’s next bout should be against Karine Silva. Karine is currently ranked at #9 in the division. Silva is 5-2 in the UFC since coming off of the 2021 season of the Contender Series. She’s 1-2 in her last three fights having lost to Viviane Araujo and her most recent bout against Maycee Barber back in December. Barber was supposed to face Rose back in 2024 but the fight never happened. Rose and Karine are right on the same level right now. This is the fight to make, and it could easily land on the main card of a fight night card.

Namajunas’s next fight: Karine Silva

Arnold Allen

Jean Silva bested Arnold Allen in a wild, back and forth fight that ended up going the distance. Allen fought well and did a lot for his stock but ultimately just could not out point 5the dynamic striker that is wildman Jean Silva. Arnold entered the first main card bout of UFC 324, ranked at #6 at 145lbs., while his opponent was ranked at #10. Allen now falls to 11-3 within his UFC career. Arnold is currently in the roughest stretch of his pro career. The 20-4 fighter has lost three of his last four bouts.

Allen’s next bout should be against Aaron Pico. Bit of a wild card of a pick here. But Pico, a Bellator standout, was signed by the UFC last year and lost his debut to Lerone Murphy. Despite the UFC debut ending with a first-round finish Pico looked very promising. How’s about one more shot? 29-year-old Pico vs a 32-year-old Allen? It’d be a great chance for Allen to get back on the right track, keeps him fighting large names too. That’d be a great opportunity for Pico. Allen will surely keep his ranking following this loss and is a solid litmus test.

Allen’s next fight: Aaron Pico

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“Yeah I felt like I took winning for granted for a while. Feel like I just never lost, never lost, never lost, now coming off two losses it’s like man. It really feels good to win,” O’Malley told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“I don’t usually get like that. Usually after a win I just kind of, you know, I just feel like I was always going to win. Coming off those losses I was definitely…felt good.”

O’Malley (19-3) circled the Octagon after the fight with the calm confidence of a man who believed the result was already his. He raised his hands to the crowd as if to punctuate the point before the scorecards were even read.

“I feel like the first two rounds he took me down at the end of both of them, but he didn’t really do anything. I didn’t even know I got hit. Tim (Welch) said there was a video he hit me with like a left hook, but I just feel like I didn’t even take any damage,” he said.

“Other than inflicting damage on myself from kicking him and stuff.”

“He looked really good. I’m gonna have to show up ready to go five rounds, focused, improve outside of camp. Petr Yan is the champ for a reason. He’s one of my favorite fighters to watch so I’d love to compete against him again,” he said.

“I’d have to have a really good camp and show up, and put on an O.G. Suga performance.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Sean O’Malley above.

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O’Malley, a former bantamweight champ and for a time a red-hot, skyrocketing UFC star, had lost back-to-back title fights against Merab Dvalishvili, dating back to 2024.

Yadong, part of Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male, was entering off a win over Henry Cejudo.

Song opened the fight with a low kick immediately, right off the touch of the gloves. O’Malley immediately put his footwork on display, with stance switches and in-and-out movement. O’Malley would later show off a spinning back kick to the body, while Yadong ran with more conventional attacks.

Through the first half of the round, O’Malley used his length well, showed plenty of feints with his hands, and kept his back off the cage. Yadong wasn’t taking much damage, but he wasn’t really landing anything either. In the back half of the round, he did try to close the distance, but O’Malley escaped, making sure to keep his back off the fence.

In the final minute, Yadong landed an outside kick, then powered into a takedown, landing it, off O’Malley’s own kick. “Suga” briefly defended with a guillotine, but didn’t have it, and Yadong finished the round working inside guard. Not a lot of damage, and not a lot of top time, in a close round overall.

Song Yadong landed a sharp leg kick early in the second frame. The Chinese bantamweight seemed to have a little more pep in his step after finishing the first with a takedown. Yadong’s right hand was there, but O’Malley changed stances, and fired a jab down the middle. Another stance switch, and another. Those stance switches and O’Malley’s speed were making Yadong’s leg kicks much less effective.

Two minutes in, Song caught a kick, and drove O’Malley back, looking to take Sean down. O’Malley, however, was able to fight that off, though Yadong stayed on him. Yadong would finally get the former champ down, with just over 90 seconds on the clock this time. O’Malley however scrambled out and back to his feet, though he had to be careful not to be caught by a Yadong punch. O’Malley fired a teep kick to the midsection. Song landed a left. The pair battled it out to the bell, with the third round likely being the one that would decide the fight, with it either 19-19, or 20-28 Yadong after two rounds.

Yadong opened round three firing right hands. O’Malley went to the body, fired his jab, then absorbed a leg kick from Yadong. O’Malley’s attacks were being answered with more volume in this round. O’Malley’s length was still serving him well enough, and Yadong shot wildly in on a takedown from too far out. Sloppy, and O’Malley easily pulled free. Still, Sean wasn’t doing enough offensively. Yadong, despite his face being bloodied, was the more aggressive fighter, and landing just slightly more. Yadong fanned on a spinning attack. He shot in on a takedown, with O’Malley pulling free. Sean landed a knee to the body seconds later. O’Malley landed a teep. O’Malley started coming on strong late, finishing with a punch and a high kick.

It was off to the judges, with O’Malley getting the nod on all three scorecards. After that, the “Suga Show” called for a title fight. “Petr Yan has something that I want. All respect to Merab, he gets the next shot, well deserved,” O’Malley said after the victory, telling Yan to take care of business with Merab.

Official Result: Sean O’Malley def. Sean Yadong by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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