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Song Yadong’s next opponent – 3 bantamweight options
Song Yadong took on Chris Gutierrez last night and took a one-sided decision with a wrestling heavy approach. With bantamweight being so stacked and congested as it is, options for Song are a bit more defined than traditionally thought of. Let’s look at three that could be great matchups for the Chinese contender!
Petr Yan: A step up
Petr Yan is a big step up in competition for Song Yadong. But Yadong is 5-1 in his last six with the only loss coming from Cory Sandhagen. Petr Yan is on a huge skid dropping three in a row to Sean O’Malley, Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili. The former champion was on a tear leading up to and capturing the title. That fateful knee in the original Sterling fight did him in.
Petr Yan has to fight down in competition. Song Yadong will likely not move up from his seventh ranking after beating #15 Gutierrez. But a fight with a former champion is always a testing ground and beating Yan would certainly put Yadong in conversation, though behind Sandhagen, Dvalishvili, and Sterling if he stays. Cejudo is up in the air and Chito Vera will not be passed up because he’s fighting for the title.
Yan just faced off with Conor McGregor at a regional card for some reason. That’s something to keep an eye on, should McGregor and the UFC try some shenanigans like a boxing match or something wild.
Deiveson Figueiredo: The new kid on the block
Former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo found a new home after defeating Rob Font in his last bout just last weekend. Figueiredo is a fantastic action fighter and with Yadong being of a similar vein, that fight would be incredible fun.
Figueiredo is similar to Petr Yan in the fact that he’s a former champion, though the weight class is different. Matching he and Figueiredo up could be an incredible fight with loads of violence. Perhaps put it in China, where last night’s event was originally supposed to be.
It’s a much more exciting fight than Yadong and Gutierrez. Figueiredo is one of those guys that brings the best out of everyone.
Umar Nurmagomedov: Song Yadong going Russian
Umar Nurmagomedov is either the most avoided or the unluckiest fighter in the division depending on who you ask. He was to fight Cory Sandhagen in a major step up in competition, but Umar withdrew from that fight. He’s fought good competition in the past with Raoni Barcelos and Brian Kelleher.
Umar Nurmagomedov serves a different purpose for Song Yadong. He’s got a name. The last name, specifically. Cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov, and with Islam Makhachev the current lightweight champion, Umar is popular by association. Yadong could take on the tough task of trying to fight and defeat the third leg of the Dagestani Dynasty and with a win could boost his popularity to the moon.
In a bantamweight division that’s so crowded, popularity could boost him over some of the more established contenders.
