The UFC continues to stack the deck as we head towards the final stretch of 2023. Tonight, Chris Presnell posted on X that the promotion has agreements in place for a matchup between former bantamweight champion Petr Yan (16-5) and Song Yadong (20-7-1).
Per the report, the two would headline a Fight Night on December 9th. While not confirmed, early reports are that the event would take place in China. For Song, this would be a massive opportunity to get to fight in front of his home country against a former world champion.
Song’s last fight was back in April when he took on Ricky Simon in a headliner. Song looked tremendous in the fight and finished Simon in the fifth round of their fight. It was a much needed win for Song after falling short to Cory Sandhagen in his previous fight. He was supposed to face Rob Font at UFC 292, but he suffered an injury. Now, it appears that he’ll be taking on a former world champion.
UFC Fight Night
A few years ago, Petr Yan was on top of the world. He was the bantamweight champion and with the way he was looking, it was hard to see someone stopping him. Then, he took on Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259. Yan was well in control of the fight heading into the fourth round but he hit Sterling with an illegal knee that ended the fight and his title reign by DQ.
Following that, he faced and defeated Cory Sandhagen for the interim title. He got a rematch with Sterling and lost a close decision. Following the Sterling loss, he faced Sean O’Malley and once again lost a very close decision. Most recently, he had a main event against Merab Dvalishvili earlier this year and he was dominated.
So, after once being on top of the world, Yan is now facing a three-fight losing streak with a tough challenge in front of him in Song Yadong. In December, the former UFC champion will look to avoid a fourth straight defeat.