Was Song Yadong's win over Umar Nurmagomedov a fluke? One former UFC bantamweight champion has at least hinted that to be the case.
Yadong turned the 135-pound division on its head this past Saturday when he knocked out Umar Nurmagomedov for a stunning upset in the UFC Fight Night 286 main event in Shanghai, China. The finish came in the second round when Yadong (24-9-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC) landed a perfectly timed uppercut near the neck of Nurmagomedov (20-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who was changing levels but then collapsed to the canvas upon impact.
As far as Henry Cejudo is concerned, Song might've simply landed a lucky punch. Cejudo, who lost a technical decision to Song in February 2025, downplayed Song's performance.
“(Nurmagomedov) just got caught, bro,"
Cejudo told Kamaru Usman on Monday's edition of their "Pound 4 Pound" podcast. "This is just a game of getting caught. Sometimes you get caught. I think nine out of 10 times Umar gets it done in whatever (way) he wants to, in my opinion. This is just one of those times, one of those fights where legit you just get caught on the spot, and that's it."
Given the circumstances of the knockout, Cejudo put forth the idea of Nurmagomedov possibly hurting himself with a rough weight cut.
"I wonder if he's cutting too much weight or a little overthrown," Cejudo said. "Because that right uppercut did land, but sometimes when you don't have that much water in your brain, things can kind of go off in there."
Nurmagomedov, 30, is now 2-2 in past four UFC appearances dating back to his title-fight loss to then-champion Merab Dvalishvili in Janurary 2025 at UFC 311.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Henry Cejudo downplays Song Yadong's KO of Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Shanghai
