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Considering it was a throw-together main event with very few ranked fighters in action, the UFC’s latest Fight Night turned out to be a decent show.
UFC Fight Night: Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon featured a number of strong finishes, including four on the main card.
Four $50k bonuses were eventually handed out, and while few fans will remember the event at the end of 2023, it was definitely worth watching.
Here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon.
#5. Marcos Rogerio de Lima – defeated Waldo Cortes-Acosta in a UFC heavyweight bout
It wasn’t the most entertaining bout on last night’s card, but Marcos Rogerio de Lima showed some new wrinkles in his win over Waldo Cortes-Acosta.
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Rather than come out all guns blazing in an attempt to knock ‘Salsa Boy’ out, ‘Pezao’ instead fought in a more measured style. He dismantled his younger opponent with some heavy leg kicks and landed some well-timed takedowns to grind him down, too.
Was it a perfect showing from the Brazilian? Arguably not. Had he kept the fight standing in the first, his leg kicks may have finished Cortes-Acosta, and he did look a little tired in the third round.
Despite this, when the fight went the distance, de Lima was the clear winner. More importantly, the victory was his fourth in his last five fights as a heavyweight. Given the overall thin nature of the division, it’s not inconceivable that he could make a run into UFC title contention in the near future.
He didn’t pick up the finish he would’ve liked, but ‘Pezao’ was one of last night’s big winners.
#4. Trey Waters – defeated Josh Quinlan in a UFC middleweight bout
Any fighter who collects a win in the UFC on late notice should always be commended. Not only did Trey Waters manage to do this in his last-gasp debut, but he also clearly outpointed a hot prospect in the form of Josh Quinlan.
Waters had just a week’s notice to prepare for the fight, and more to the point, had only fought 15 days earlier, stopping Jalin Fuller to claim the LFA welterweight title.
However, many fans figured his lanky, 6’5” frame could give Quinlan problems, and sure enough, ‘The Renegade’ simply couldn’t get anything going.
Instead, Waters kept him at bay with his punches, busted him up, avoided his big left hook, and basically won every moment of the fight.
Quite how far Waters can go in the promotion is anyone’s guess, particularly as Quinlan wasn’t exactly an established welterweight contender in his own right.
However, if Waters can perform like this on such short notice, it’s likely that his future might be bright, making him one of the bigger winners at last night’s event.
#3. Marcus McGhee – defeated Journey Newson in a UFC catchweight bout
Trey Waters wasn’t the only fighter to pick up a big win last night after stepping in on late notice. Newcomer Marcus McGhee had just three days to prepare for his first trip to the octagon against Journey Newson, but ‘The Maniac’ performed brilliantly.
After a wild and competitive first round, McGhee landed a big left hand that dropped Newson in the second, then pounced, took his back, and choked him out moments later.
Sure, it’s true that Newson perhaps wasn’t the toughest opponent in the world. This loss moved his octagon record to 1-4 and it’s unlikely we’ll see him in the promotion again for now at least.
However, any fighter who can step in on such short notice and deliver a performance like McGhee’s deserves a ton of credit.
More than just credit, ‘The Maniac’ also received a nice $50k bonus for his work, and it’ll be interesting to see what he can do next time out with proper notice.
Overall, this was an astonishingly good night for him.
#2. Caio Borralho – defeated Michal Oleksiejczuk in a UFC middleweight bout
Coming into last night’s event, the general consensus on Caio Borralho was that he was flying under the radar as a prospect at 185 lbs, but for good reason.
Simply put, while ’The Natural’ had won his first three bouts in the octagon, he’d also done so in dull fashion, meaning that nobody was really looking forward to his clash with Michal Oleksiejczuk last night.
Thankfully, though, the Brazilian produced his best performance in the UFC to date. He dominated the Polish fighter on the ground before applying a classic rear-naked choke to submit him in the second round.
The win gave Borralho his first $50k bonus, and more importantly, took his overall MMA record to an impressive 14-1. He now hasn’t lost since July 2015.
Could ‘The Natural’ be a contender at 185 lbs? Only time will tell, but based on this victory, it should be time to give him a shot at a ranked opponent next time out and see how he gets on. With so many strikers at the top of the division, he could well be the dark horse.
#1. Song Yadong – defeated Ricky Simon in a UFC bantamweight bout
The biggest winner on offer last night was definitely Song Yadong. The Chinese bantamweight contender produced his best showing in a long time to dispatch Ricky Simon in the headline bout, cementing himself as a genuine threat to the 135 lbs title.
‘The Kung Fu Kid’, who had previously beaten the likes of Marlon Vera and Marlon Moraes, came into the win off the back of a disappointing loss to Cory Sandhagen.
However, last night saw him firmly outstrike Simon, particularly with his faster hands, and in the fourth round, he seemed to have landed the killer blow by dropping his foe.
Simon managed to survive the round, but in the fifth, he ate another big punch that dropped him again, and this time Song didn’t let up. He blasted his opponent with a salvo of unanswered punches, forcing Herb Dean to step in.
Given the loaded nature of the bantamweight division right now, the UFC could probably match Song with any of the fighters ranked around him and make a great bout. Essentially, he’s got a ton of options, and could probably headline his next show, too.
Either way, this was a great showing for him, and as he also claimed a $50k bonus, it’s easy to see him as the event’s biggest winner.
