Tag: Song Yadong

Song Yadong fires back at Petr Yan after UFC Fight Night 233: ‘His last fight was boring, too’

Song Yadong says Petr Yan looked “like sh*t” in his most recent bout and wants to test his boxing vs. the former UFC champ next.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] doubled down on his callout of former bantamweight champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] after a convincing win over Chris Gutierrez in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 main event.

Song (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) was dominant throughout five rounds of his headliner at the UFC Apex, earning a unanimous decision over Gutierrez (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) in a somewhat lackluster affair. The Chinese fighter claims he was hunting for the finish, but he simply couldn’t be as effective with his offense as some other performances.

“I was ready for his leg kicks,” Song told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC Fight Night 233. “In the fight, I want to knock everyone out, but this guy comes very good. I couldn’t find the distance. He always use his faints, his kicks. But my coach, Urijah (Faber), told me to go more MMA style, and I went to the legs and took him down. In the fourth round, I knew he was very tired, and I wanted to finish him. But he kept holding me on the ground.”

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With wins in four of his past five fights, Song is looking for a step up in competition. He was originally linked to a matchup with Petr Yan on the card, but it failed to materialize.

Song said prior to UFC Fight Night 233 that he would call out Yan with a win, and he did just that in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder. Yan responded with a yawning emoji on social media, which could be seen as disinterest in the matchup.

That doesn’t fly with Song, however, and he’s convinced it’s the pairing to make.

“I already fought two guys lower than me, so I want to fight Petr Yan,” Song said. “He post the emoji. It means the fight was boring. but his last fight was boring, too – like sh*t. Let’s fight at UFC 299. I heard that he wants to fight in March. We can fight in March. We both don’t go back. Let’s go face-to-face. Let’s see who’s boxing is good. Let’s see who is the best boxer in this division.”

Despite his strong desire to fight Yan next, Song isn’t entrenching himself in getting that fight, he said. He just wants to take meaningful strides toward the 135-pound belt and is eager to get a name that fulfills that objective.

“Anyone in the top five,” Song said. “I want top-five fighters. I don’t want to fight outside of top 10.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Program total passes $22 million

UFC Fight Night 233 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $159,500

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 233 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 233 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Nasrat Haqparast[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Muniz[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Junyong Park[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Kevin Jousset[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]HyunSung Park[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shannon Ross[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Steve Garcia[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Melquizael Costa[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Luana Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Stephanie Egger[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Tatsuro Taira[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Carlos Hernandez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Talita Alencar[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Rayanne Amanda[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2331 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,848,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,367,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 results: Song Yadong clean sweeps Chris Gutierrez, calls out Petr Yan

It might not have come the way Song Yadong envisioned, but he scored a lopsided win over Chris Gutierrez nonetheless at UFC Fight Night 233.

It might not have come the way [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] envisioned, but he scored a lopsided win over [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] nonetheless.

Song showed versatility to his overall game as he defeated Gutierrez by unanimous decision in the UFC Fight Night 233 bantamweight headliner. After 25 minutes, the judges awarded Song the victory with scores of 50-44, 50-45, 50-45 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

It was the second consecutive victory for Song, who called out former 135-pound champion Petr Yan in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder.

“I’m coming to get the belt,” Song said. “Next one, Petr, sign the contract. Tomorrow I’m going back to train. I know you want to fight in March. OK, let’s go in March.”

Immediately after Song’s win, Yan posted a yawn emoji on X, presumably as an assessment of Song’s performance. Song had a response to that.

“Your last fight, too, bro,” Song said, referencing Yan’s most recent loss to Merab Dvalishvili in March. “Looked like sh*t. Some time I will knock you out. Your boxing is good? OK, let’s go. Let’s try it.”

Song (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) entered the fight with Gutierrez (20-5-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) looking to display his striking, but he was forced to make adjustments as things unfolded. After a leg-kick heavy Round 1 from both Song and Gutierrez, it was Round 2 where the fight changed. Gutierrez was doing a good job of managing distance, but after an eye poke from Gutierrez halted the action, Song came back and scored a nice takedown when the fight resumed.

After holding Gutierrez down for the remainder of the round, Song found more success on the feet before closing out the round with another takedown. The biggest moment of the fight came early in Round 4 when Song dropped Gutierrez with an overhand right. He then proceeded to fight him heavy on the mat with ground and pound. Round 5 saw more of the same as Song left no doubt who was the winner.

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Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 233 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Social media reacts to Song Yadong’s win, response to Petr Yan at UFC Fight Night 233

The MMA community reacted to Song Yadong’s victory over Chris Gutierrez in the UFC Fight Night 233 main event.

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] continued to show promise in the bantamweight division when he claimed a main event win over [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 233.

Song (21-7-1 MMA, 10-2-1 UFC) earned his fourth victory in his past five fights with a unanimous decision triumph over Gutierrez (20-6-2 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) in the 135-headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Song’s victory over Gutierrez at UFC Fight Night 233.

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UFC Fight Night 233 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 233 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 233 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 233 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 video: Song Yadong, Chris Gutierrez make weight for main event

The penultimate octagon headliner of 2023 is official after Song Yadong and Chris Gutierrez made weight for UFC Fight Night 233.

LAS VEGAS – The main event for the penultimate UFC card of 2023 is official after [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] made weight for UFC Fight Night 233.

Yadong (20-7-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) and Gutierrez (20-5-2 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) both hit the bantamweight mark at Friday’s official weigh-in, which took place at the UFC Apex – the same venue that hosts Saturday’s card on ESPN+.

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China’s Yadong registered at 136 pounds when he stepped on the scale early in the two-hour window, while first-time headliner Gutierrez came in nearly an hour later, and was 136 pounds – with the help of the curtain.

Check out the video above to see Yadong and Gutierrez make weight ahead of UFC Fight Night 233.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 breakdown: Will Song Yadong be too much for Chris Gutierrez?

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the main event for UFC Fight Night 233, Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez.

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Song Yadong plans to call out Petr Yan with UFC Fight Night 233 main event win

Song Yadong sees Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 main event against Chris Gutierrez as a table-setter for a run to the title in 2024.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] sees Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 main event against Chris Gutierrez as a table-setter for a run to the title in 2024.

Yadong (20-7-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) headlines the UFC’s penultimate event of the year in a five-round bantamweight fight with Gutierrez (20-5-2 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) at the UFC Apex, which streams on ESPN+. With victories in four of his past five fights, the Team Alpha Male product thinks he’s on the verge of title contention.

“Win this fight, then maybe two more,” Yadong told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 233 media day. “Next time give me top five and win the next one, then I think they will give me a chance to fight for a title.”

UFC Fight Night 233 was originally announced to take place in Shanghai. For China’s Yadong, it was a dream scenario to compete on home soil and have an event focused around him. But then the organization changed plans and moved the card to Las Vegas on less than three weeks’ notice.

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Yadong claims he doesn’t know why the card was relocated, but he was disheartened by the news.

“I’m very disappointed about this,” Yadong said. “I really wanted to fight in China because it is my home. It’s been four years I haven’t been fighting in China. I wanted to show my family, my friends, all my U.S. fans and all the MMA fans how much I improved. I wanted to make a good statement and a good opponent over there.”

Despite the shift in location, Yadong said he hasn’t lost focus on the task at hand. He knows as the No. 9 ranked fighter in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings, he’s putting a lot on the line against unranked Gutierrez, but he thinks he can shine in the matchup.

“Every time I will say I will knock him out quickly,” Yadong said. “I know a little bit about him before I took this fight. Definitely, he’s a striker, has good footwork and switches stance. Nothing special.”

If Yadong emerges victorious, he said he will be going big game hunting at 135 pounds. He was originally linked to a fight with former champion Petr Yan at UFC Fight Night 233, but then it fizzled and he ended up with Gutierrez instead.

A showdown with Yan (16-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) is one Yadong wants to revisit, he said, and the 26-year-old intends on making a direct callout if his hand is raised.

“UFC has arranged for me to fight Petr in Shanghai, but they never gave me the contract,” Yadong said. “Actually, we both didn’t sign the contract for each other. Definitely (I want to fight Yan). After this fight. Win this fight, I will call him out.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Video: UFC Fight Night 233 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 233 on Saturday, watch as the main-card athletes speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 233, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

UFC Fight Night 233 pre-event facts: Khalil Rountree on cusp of knockdown record vs. Anthony Smith

The best facts about UFC Fight Night 233, which features Khalil Rountree chasing a key record vs. Anthony Smith.

The UFC’s penultimate event of 2023 goes down Saturday with UFC Fight Night 233, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.

Ranked bantamweights meet in the main event of the card, which was originally scheduled to take place in Shanghai before being shifted to “Sin City” on short notice. [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (20-7-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (20-5-2 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) in a matchup of names looking to take the next step in a loaded 135-pound weight class.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts from UFC Fight Night 233.

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