Like most watching from home, Sean O'Malley couldn't believe his eyes with how things ended in the main event of UFC Fight Night 286.
Saturday, Song Yadong pulled off one of the most notable upsets of the year, defeating former UFC title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov. It wasn't just that Yadong was able to beat Nurmagomedov as a sizable underdog, but also how he did it. The Chinese fighter put the lights out on Nurmagomedov, knocking him out with a vicious uppercut early in the second round of their bantamweight contenders fight in Shanghai.
O'Malley, who was watching the event live and recording his reaction, was completely taken away by Yadong. Below is his reaction to the KO:
Sean O'Malley was SHOCKED watching Umar Nurmagomedov get knocked out
cold by Song Yadong "Just how good is Sean O'Malley." 😭 (via @SugaSeanMMA)pic.twitter.com/3YSniyce53
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 29, 2026
O'Malley and Yadong have history. The two fought earlier this year at UFC 324 in January. That night in Las Vegas, O'Malley took home a unanimous decision win over Yadong.
"Suga" has been campaigning for an opportunity to get back his title now that he's on a two-fight winning streak. He awaits the result of the championship trilogy between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili going down in October. He thinks Yadong just inserted his name into the mix with this big win.
"Just how good is Sean O'Malley?" O'Malley said in reaction to the KO. "He knocked him out cold, chat. He necked him out. If Merab wins, it sounds like you have to give Song the title shot. If not, if Petr wins, I get the title shot. Mario (Bautista) is right there, too. The division is on fire right now."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: Sean O'Malley shocked by Song Yadong's KO win over Umar Nurmagomedov
