UFC 265 results: Song Yadong counterpunches his way to split decision over Casey Kenney

It was close by the judges’ standards, though Song Yadong did enough to get the nod.

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] walked away from UFC 265 the victor, even though the crowd in Houston wasn’t thrilled with the judges’ decision.

In the UFC 265 main card opener, Yadong (17-5-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) defeated [autotag]Casey Kenney[/autotag] (16-4-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC) by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27).

The bantamweight bout took place at Toyota Center in Houston. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

Throughout the fight, and especially early, Kenney pushed the pace. However, Yadong proved that aggression doesn’t always translate to successful offensive output as he pelted Kenney with numerous counterstrikes.

The fight largely took place on the feet from a distance, though there was some cage-pushing. While Kenney had his moments, Yadong appeared to land the harder and cleaner strikes. As the fight progressed, Yadong positioned himself in a successful range where he could kick and punch Kenney.

When the fight ended, each fighter signaled his belief he did enough. Upon the reading of the split decision, the crowd booed and Kenney jumped on the fence to pump up more jeers. Regardless, it was Yadong who stepped into the winner’s circle for his post-fight interview.

The win punches Yadong’s ticket back into the win column after a unanimous decision defeat to Kyler Phillips at UFC 259 in March. He moves to 2-1-1 in his most recent four fights.

Kenney takes his second defeat in as many fights. At UFC 259, Kenney lost a split decision to former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 265 results include: