Song Yadong was spectacular on home soil at UFC Fight Night 286, and it resulted in the biggest moment of his career.
Song (24-9-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC) finally secured the signature result that's eluded him so far in his career when he knocked Umar Nurmagomedov (20-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) out cold in the second round of their bantamweight headliner Saturday at Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in China.
It's all the more meaningful because of his past shortcomings. Song has found himself on the cusp of breaking through several times before, but fell short in key bouts with Sean O'Malley, Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen. Beating Nurmagomedov in this fashion to get over the hump, might be more meaningful than if he'd got any of those other wins. Genuinely.
It changes
a lot in the title picture for Song. He's now a real candidate to fight for the belt in his next octagon appearance, no matter who wins the UFC 333 championship trilogy bout between Petr Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) and Merab Dvalishvili (21-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi.
It's two different scenarios, though, because Sean O'Malley (20-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) is very much in strong position to get a title shot at 135 pounds. If Dvalishvili regains the belt at UFC 333, then Song is perhaps the frontrunner, because that's a fresh matchup for gold and no one is keen for a trilogy with O'Malley. If Yan defends, though, then Song should expect to take a backseat to "Suga."
A rematch between Yan and O'Malley for the title is simply too much to resist. It's for the highest stakes and has a longstanding storyline after O'Malley won a controversial split decision at UFC 280 in October 2022. That said, even if that's how it plays out, Song could potentially just wait for the winner.
The problem in that, however, is that it could be a long wait for all that to materialize. It allows fans to forget about what Song just did, and opens opportunity for others to build momentum in a title case.
Ultimately, Song has already fought three times this year, so there's no urgency on his end to make the next move. He is worthy, and can relax and see what happens between Yan and Dvalishvili in less than two months. After that, there's a very real chance it all unfolds in his best interest.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean Shelby's Shoes: What's next for Song Yadong after UFC Shanghai win?
