Rivalries: Yadong Song

After slowly creeping up the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight rankings, Yadong Song now finds himself within earshot of title contention.

The 24-year-old Team Alpha Male standout will tackle Cory Sandhagen in the UFC Fight Night 210 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Song enters the Octagon on the strength of a three-fight winning streak that has seen him push his organizational record to 8-1-1. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 203, where he cut down former World Series of Fighting champion Marlon Moraes with punches in the first round of their March 12 confrontation.

As Song makes final preparations for his high-stakes showdown with Sandhagen at 135 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped chart his course:

Cody Stamann

The rugged Michigan Top Team rep fought to a controversial majority draw with Song in their three-round UFC on ESPN 7 bantamweight showcase on Dec. 7, 2019 at Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C. Judges David Braslow and Steve Rados struck 28-28 scorecards, while Sal D’Amato saw it 29-28 for Stamann, the verdict sending an audible murmur rippling through the crowd. Song was deducted a point for an illegal knee strike in the first round, costing him what would have been a split decision win. Though he was met with stout punching combinations on the feet, Stamann controlled parts of the first and second rounds with takedowns and positional control, but he found another gear in the third. There, he took down Song, stymied his momentum on the mat and ultimately climbed to full mount. Stamann tore into the “Kung Fu Monkey” with ground-and-pound, all while floating from one dominant position to the next. He had the look of a fighter heading for certain victory, only to have the judges say otherwise. The draw snapped Song’s seven-fight winning streak.

Marlon Vera

Crisp counters, devastating power punches from both hands and punishing leg kicks carried the surging Song to a unanimous decision over the Team Oyama export in a closely contested UFC on ESPN 8 feature on May 16, 2020 at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it 29-28. Song did his best work across the first two rounds, where he connected on two- and three-punch combinations, targeted the head and body, held his own in the clinch and fought fire with fire. Vera turned the tide in Round 3, as he executed a pair of takedowns, let his hands go and did what he could to curry favor with the judges, albeit in a losing effort. Song outlanded “Chito” by narrow margins in significant strikes (101-92) and total strikes landed (119-115).

Kyler Phillips

The MMA Lab prospect took a massive step forward in his development when he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Song as part of the UFC 259 undercard on March 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28 for Phillips. Song struggled to answer his opponent’s variety. Phillips cracked him with a head kick and a spinning back kick to the body in the first round, executed multiple takedowns and kept the him off-balance for much of their 15-minute duel. Song made his move in Round 3, where he drew the John Crouch disciple into power punching exchanges. However, the finish he needed to dig out of a two-rounds-to-none hole was nowhere in sight. The setback was Song’s first in more than four years.

Casey Kenney

Song outstruck and outmaneuvered the former Tachi Palace Fights champion to a split decision in their three-round UFC 265 bantamweight attraction on Aug. 7, 2021 at the Toyota Center in Houston. Scores were 29-28 (D’Amato) and 30-27 (Chris Lee) for Song, 29-28 (Kerry Hatley) for Kenney. Song countered effectively throughout the 15-minute pairing, piled up points with some exquisite body work and found another gear when he needed it most. Neither man truly separated himself from the other through two competitive rounds. However, Song hit the accelerator in the third, zeroed in on the American’s body with punches and kicks, staggered him with a right hand and managed to stay upright before conceding an uneventful takedown in the waning seconds.