Petr Yan (17-5 MMA) will enter the contest looking to snap a three-fight losing skid. The former champion was most recently defeated by Merab Dvalishvilli last March, which was preceded by split decision setbacks to Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley respectively.
Meanwhile, Song Yadong (21-8-1 MMA) was most recently seen in action this past December, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over Chris Gutierrez. ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ has gone 5-1 over his past six Octagon appearances, with his lone loss in that time coming to Cory Sandhagen.
Round one of this bantamweight matchup begins and Song Yadong lands a hard low kick to start. Petr Yan returns fire with one of his own, but gets countered by a big hook. ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ feints with a takedown attempt which gets ‘No Mercy’ to bite. Yan comes back with a nice right hand. He follows that up with a low kick. Yadong counters nicely with a left hook. He leaps in with a right hand that just misses the mark. Song looks to shoot for a takedown but ends up landing a left hook. Petr Yan goes to the body in return. Both men with hard low kicks. Song Yadong lands a nice 1-2. He attempts a spinning kick, but it misses the mark. Yadong appears to be the faster fighter early on. He shoots in and scores a takedown. Yan scrambles up to his feet but is immediately dragged back down to the floor. The former champ looks to scramble but falls short in his attempt to take top position. Yadong with some good shots as Yan returns to his feet. Petr with a nice low kick. He shoots in for a single leg but, can’t get the takedown. The horn sounds to end round one.
Round two of this UFC 299 bantamweight matchup begins and Song Yadong lands a body kick. He just misses with a follow up left hook. ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ shoots in for a takedown. He doesn’t get it but pushes ‘No Mercy’ against the cage. Yan breaks free and lands a good combination that ends in an uppercut. Another left hook from Yadong. Petr Yan counters with a good uppercut and then another. He goes to the body now. Yadong counters with a nice right hand. The Team Alpha Male product shoots in for takedown and pushes the former champ against the cage. Some nice elbows from Yan despite the position. Petr Yan with a nice combination on the break. He catches Yadong with a good shot and the fight hits the floor. Song Yadong pops right back up but gets caught with another good shot. ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ looks to shoot, but Yan sprawls and keeps the fight standing. The crowd is now chanting “let’s go Petr”. The Russian responds with a nice combination. Yadong is still firing away but is having less success. Big uppercuts and then a stinging body shot from Petr. He shoots in and scores a beautiful takedown. He quickly begins working some right hands. He lands a nice elbow and Yadong is cut. The horn sounds to end round two.
The third and final round begins and Petr Yan comes out quickly with a nice jab and then a 1-2. Song Yadong answers with a low kick. ‘No Mercy’ responds with a hard body kick. He shoots in for a takedown but is unable to get it. Yan with a nice elbow on the break from the clinch. Yadong with a jab up the middle. Yan with a spinning back kick that connects. He throws another that partially connects to the head of his opponent. Song Yadong with a nice right hand. He shoots for a single leg but ‘No Mercy’ avoids. Yan with a big combination that ends in an uppercut. Both men land left hooks. Yadong continues to work his jab. Yan misses with a spinning back fist. Two minutes remain in the fight. Another good jab from Yadong. He just misses with a straight right. The fighters clinch against the cage and Petr Yan lands a big elbow. He drops down for a takedown and gets it. That was huge for the former champ. He moves to half guard and begins landing some huge elbows. Yan looks for a d’arce choke but the horn sounds before he can complete the submission.
