Song Yadong Looks to Bounce Back at UFC Fight Night in April

Although details are scarce regarding the UFC Fight Night scheduled for April 22 (no venue has been announced, and the event has yet to be added to the UFC’s online calendar), word leaked online last week that rising Chinese MMA star Song Yadong (19-7-1) will trade blows with American fighter Ricky Simon (20-3-0) at the event.

The pairing is sure to result in an exciting fight, as eighth-ranked bantamweight fighter Yadong will be eager to reassert himself in the Octagon after falling to Cory ‘The Sandman’ Sandhagen at UFC Vegas 60 in September.

Song came into the high-octane bout in Vegas riding an impressive three-fight win streak, and he appeared evenly matched with Sandhagen for large portions of the fight. Ultimately, though, a medical professional called the bout after four rounds due to a nasty gash Song received above his left eye in the second round.

Meanwhile, Simon, the 10th-ranked athlete in the bantamweight division, is on a hot streak, triumphing in his past five consecutive fights and most recently securing a W after submitting Jack Shore at UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. Rodriguez.

In addition to Song vs. Simon, on April 22, UFC fans can look forward to fights between Jared Gordon and Bobby Green, Norma Dumont and Karol Rosa, William Gomis and Francis Marshall, and Iasmin Lucindo and Melissa Martinez, according to USA Today Sports’ MMA Junkie.

Twenty-five-year-old Song, often referred to as ‘The Kung Fu Kid,’ fights out of UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male in California. To learn more about Song’s journey from frigid Northeast China to sunny Sacramento and the UFC, watch the second episode of RADII’s two-part mini-documentary Way of the Warrior:

The UFC and mixed martial arts (MMA) in general have enjoyed increasing popularity in China over the past few years, thanks primarily to athletes like two-time UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili — China’s first UFC champ.

Cover image via the UFC