Umar Nurmagomedov Vows Return After 2nd-Round KO Loss to Song Yadong

Q: Will Song Yadong's historic knockout finally earn him the chance to become China's first male UFC champion?

Yes—Song Yadong’s knockout of Umar Nurmagomedov very likely earns him either a bantamweight title shot or a clear No. 1 contender fight. The case is strong on merit. Song, ranked No. 6 entering UFC Shanghai, stopped the No. 3 contender with a clean second-round knockout, handing Nurmagomedov the first knockout loss of his career. It was not just an upset; it was the biggest win of Song’s UFC run and came in a main event in front of a sold-out home crowd. He is now 24-9-1 with 13 UFC wins and has won three of his past four, with the only loss in that stretch a narrow decision to Sean O’Malley. That result reshuffles the bantamweight picture. Nurmagomedov had been viewed as one of the division’s leading contenders after wins over Deiveson Figueiredo and Mario Bautista. By beating him decisively, Song moved himself above several rivals who lacked a win of that caliber. He also immediately called for the title shot and reiterated his goal of becoming China’s first male UFC champion, following Zhang Weili’s success on the women’s side. The only caution is timing and UFC matchmaking. With the bantamweight title picture involving Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili around the top of the division, the UFC could still choose to make Song fight one more eliminator. But after a historic knockout over Nurmagomedov, Song has done enough to justify being next—or at worst, one fight away.

3 articles · Updated · MMA Mania · Aug 29

Hours after UFC Shanghai, Umar Nurmagomedov said he was fine and would “work on the mistakes” after Song Yadong knocked him out in the second round.
About seven minutes into the fight, Yadong landed a right hand that stopped the Dagestani bantamweight in an upset many expected Nurmagomedov to avoid.
The defeat was Nurmagomedov’s first career knockout loss and only his second professional loss, halting a two-fight win streak.
For Yadong, the hometown win strengthens his standing in the crowded bantamweight division, while Nurmagomedov now faces a setback in his title path.