UFC Macau went down yesterday (Sat., May 30, 2026) on Paramount+ inside Galaxy Arena in Macau, China which saw Song Yadong submit Deiveson Figueiredo in round two of their headlining Bantamweight bout (see it again here). In the co-main event, Alonzo Menifield knocked out Zhang Mingyang in the opening frame (highlights).
Biggest Winner: Kai Asakura
Coming into the event, Asakura had a ton of pressure on him after losing his first two fights inside the Octagon — including a Flyweight title fight against
Alexandre Pantoja — so a third straight defeat would have been disastrous for his hopes of ever climbing back into a championship fight inside the Octagon. Thankfully, the Japanese superstar was able to turn things around for himself in a big way, destroying Cameron Smotherman in the very first round via devastating knockout (highlights). Asakura looked like the man many hoped to see after making the jump over from RIZIN, and he delivered in a huge way, earning a new lease on his combat life, in the process. To sweeten the pot he is flying home with an extra $100,000 in his pocket thanks to his performance, another reason why he is the biggest winner of the night.
Runner (s) Up: Song Yadong and Sergei Pavlovich
There were several impressive finishes on the night, and Yadong and Pavlovich delivered. For Yadong, submitting a former world champion like Figueiredo is the type of win he needed — especially in a headlining spot — after coming up short against the big dogs in his previous defeats. Currently ranked No. 5, “The Kung Fu Kid” could move up a spot or two, which will go a long way for his title fight aspirations. For Pavlovich, we can make it three straight wins for the bruising Russian bomber after destroying Tallison Teixeira in under a minute (highlights), putting him in great position in the championship race. He is currently ranked No. 3, only behind Alexander Volkov and Ciryl Gane. One more win and he could very well find himself back in another UFC title fight.
Honorable Mention: Alonzo Menifield
As for Menifield, his violent knockout win over Zhang Mingyang in the very first round is a great bounce-back effort after getting knocked out himself in his previous outing against Volkan Oezdemir. He improves to 3-1 in his last four fights and could move up the rankings, where he is currently sitting in the No. 15 spot at Light Heavyweight.
Biggest Loser (s): Deiveson Figueiredo and Zhang Mingyang
It’s been a rough couple of years for Figueiredo, and it got worse in China after being submitted by Yadong. The former champion has now lost his last two fights and drops to 1-4 over his last five contests since 2024. It’s really been a big downfall for the ex-125-pound title holder, who at one point was sitting at the top of the game and looked primed to be there for a while. Where it’s gone wrong is hard to tell, but it doesn’t bode well for him that since moving up to 135 pounds he hasn’t found much success against the cream of the crop. As for Mingyang, things just keep getting worse for him, as well, after losing his second straight fight via knockout after getting iced by Menifield in the opening round. To make matters worse, both defeats came in China, his home country, which isn’t good for himself, or the promotion’s hopes and plans for him.
For complete UFC Macau results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
