In the main event of UFC Vegas 72, we are going to see a big time matchup in the bantamweight division featuring two up and coming contenders. Song Yadong (19-7-1) is back in his second straight main event as he takes on Ricky Simon (20-3).
Originally, these two were supposed to fight last weekend in a three-round fight. However, after the original main event fell through this weekend, the UFC pushed this fight back a week and made it the main event and five rounds.
This will be Song’s first fight since his lost to Cory Sandhagen last September. Song was game but was sliced up by the attack of Sandhagen. The loss for Song snapped a three-fight winning streak which featured two knockouts.
Standing across from Song will be Ricky Simon. Simon started hot in the UFC winning his first three fights including a win over top contender Merab Dvalishvili. However, he then lost back-to-back fights against Urijah Faber and Rob Font. He’s bounced back incredibly strong since then winning five straight.
UFC Vegas 72 Prediction
When this was a three-round fight, I really liked Ricky Simon. While Song Yadong has tremendous striking and he has incredible power, I just thought that the pressuring wrestling attack from Simon might be a little much for Song in just a three round fight.
However, changing to five rounds could really help out Song Yadong. I’m not saying that Simon will have any issues going five rounds, but I think that Song is in a better position to go that full distance. I still think the early part of the fight is going to belong to Simon, but as the fight goes on, the tide can turn.
So, who wins at UFC Vegas 72? I see either Simon winning a very close decision or Song coming on so strong at the end that he gets a late stoppage. After going back-and-forth, I’m going with the latter. I think Song lands something big on a tired Simon in the fourth round leading to a TKO victory.
Prediction: Song Yadong by TKO – Round 4