UFC free fight: Song Yadong overwhelms Ricky Simon, gets fifth-round TKO win

Watch Song Yadong get a fifth-round stoppage win over Ricky Simon.

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] proved that his power carries late.

This past April, “The Kung Fu Kid” got his latest career win, stopping veteran Ricky Simon a minute into the fifth round of their bantamweight contest. It was an impressive showing that got Yadong a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, and it also marked his first UFC main event win.

You can watch Yadong’s performance in the video above.

Yadong (20-7-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) return to the octagon this Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 233 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He takes on Gutierrez (20-4-2 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC). UFC Fight Night 233 streams on ESPN+.

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

UFC Fight Night 233 loses Daniel Marcos vs. Carlos Vera

Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 even in Las Vegas has taken a hit as Daniel Marcos vs. Carlos Vera is off.

UFC Fight Night 233 is down a fight.

The bantamweight bout between [autotag]Daniel Marcos[/autotag] and [autotag]Carlos Vera[/autotag] has been scrapped from Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

Visa issues for Marcos (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) are to blame for the cancellation. No replacement will be sought for Vera (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who took his UFC debut assignment on a few days’ notice.

Two people with knowledge of the cancellation recently informed MMA Junkie of it but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Marcos, 30, has hit a streak of bad luck after an impressive start to his UFC tenure. Following back-to-back wins over Saimon Oliveira and Davey Grant, Marcos has encountered three straight cancellations including one on weigh-in day when opponent Victor Hugo missed weight.

Vera, 36, has competed in MMA for over a decade with the dream of one day getting to the UFC. A member of “The Ultimate Fighter 31,” Vera was part of Team McGregor. He was eliminated by eventual season winner Brad Katona. Vera’s manager Brian Butler, of Sucker Punch Entertainment, posted a video of him breaking the news of his signing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0ZPGkaLJ4X/?img_index=1

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 233 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez
  • Khalil Rountree vs. Anthony Smith
  • Tim Elliott vs. Su Mudaerji
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey
  • Andre Muniz vs. Junyong Park
  • Kevin Jousset vs. Song Kenan

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7:30 p.m. ET)

  • HyunSung Park vs. Shannon Ross
  • Melquizael Costa vs. Steve Garcia
  • Stephanie Egger vs. Luana Santos
  • Carlos Hernandez vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Talita Alencar vs. Rayanne Amanda

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

UFC Fight Night 233: Make your predictions for Yadong vs. Gutierrez, Smith vs. Rountree and more (Updated)

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 event in Las Vegas, featuring Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez.

(Updated Dec. 5, 2023, for inclusion of a new main card fight and a removal of a prelim.)

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 event in Las Vegas.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC Fight Night 233 main card staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC Fight Night 233 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Make your picks below.

With Allan Nascimento out, Tim Elliott steps in to face Su Mudaerji at UFC Fight Night 233

Tim Elliott continues to prove he’s willing to fight anyone.

[autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag] continues to prove he’s willing to fight anyone.

[autotag]Allan Nascimento[/autotag] has been forced out of UFC Fight Night 233, and Elliott (19-13-1 MMA, 8-11 UFC) will step in on less than a week’s notice to face [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag](16-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in a bantamweight bout on Saturday’s main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

MMA Junkie verified the matchup with a person close to the situation after an initial report from Patrick McCorry. Nascimento’s withdrawal was first reported by Ag Fight.

Elliott will look to rebound from his submission loss to undefeated Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 294 in October. Prior to that, the 36-year-old former title challenger scored back-to-back wins over Tagir Ulanbekov and Victor Altamirano.

Mudaerji hasn’t competed since his Fight of the Year contender against Matt Schnell in July 2022. The loss snapped his three-fight winning streak, which included a 44-second knockout of Malcolm Gordon.

With the change, the current UFC Fight Night 233 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez
  • Anthony Smith vs. Khalil Rountree
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Allan Nascimento
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey
  • Andre Muniz vs. Junyong Park

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Kevin Jousset vs. Song Kenan
  • Carlos Hernandez vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • HyunSung Park vs. Shannon Ross
  • Stephanie Egger vs. Luana Santos
  • Talita Alencar vs. Rayanne Amanda
  • Daniel Marcos vs. Carlos Vera
  • Melquizael Costa vs. Steve Garcia

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

Michael Bisping: ‘You’ve got to favor’ Anthony Smith over Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 233, even on short notice

Michael Bisping believes that Anthony Smith, even without much time to prepare, has the advantage against Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 233.

Despite [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] stepping in on short notice, UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] gives him the advantage over [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag].

After Rountree (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) lost his opponent for UFC on ESPN 52 this Saturday, he was booked against short-notice replacement Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) a week later at UFC Fight Night 233 on Dec. 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Bisping, a good friend and podcast co-host of Smith’s, lauds the former title challenger for taking the opportunity against the streaking Rountree.

“He’s rolling the dice, he’s daring to be great, he’s stepping up on short notice,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Khalil Rountree is the real deal. He’s a tough guy. He’s got big power.”

But with Smith having fought the likes of former UFC light heavyweight champion and current heavyweight champ Jon Jones and top contender Magomed Ankalaev, he sees Smith’s experience playing a big factor. He also thinks “Lionheart” has the well rounded skillset to prevail.

“You’ve got to favor Anthony in that,” Bisping continued. “He’s fought better competition, he’s been around longer, he’s got bags of experience. I think striking wise, he can more than handle himself on the feet against Khalil.

“In the grappling department, I think Anthony is leaps and bounds ahead of him. But hey, it’s a fight. He’s stepping up on short notice. I’m assuming he’s been in the gym, and he’s been training otherwise he wouldn’t do it. Anthony takes his career very seriously.”

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

Anthony Smith replaces ill Azamat Murzakanov to face Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 233

Azamat Murzakanov is out of his scheduled fight against Khalil Rountree, who will now face Anthony Smith on short notice in Las Vegas.

[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] lost his opponent and will no longer be competing at UFC on ESPN 52. However, a former title challenger has stepped up as a replacement for a fight to take place a week later.

Rountree (12-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) was scheduled to face Azamat Murzakanov at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on Dec. 2. However, UFC CEO Dana White has announced the undefeated Murzakanov (13-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has pneumonia and will no longer be able to compete.

All is not lost for Rountree though, as former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith has stepped up as a replacement. The new matchup announced by White in a video posted to Instagram will now take place a week later at UFC Fight Night 233 on Dec. 9 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0DFRDYv6OL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) will compete for the third time in 2023. In his last outing, “Lionheart” picked up a split decision win in a rematch against Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 225. The result snapped a two-fight skid for the former title challenger, marking Smith’s first win since defeating Spann by submission in their first meeting.

Rountree gets to ensure a fight camp doesn’t go to waste by fighting a week later than originally planned. The fight will be Rountree’s second of 2023, following a knockout finish of Chris Daukaus at UFC on ESPN 51 in August.

With the change, the current lineup on Dec. 9 includes:

  • Song Yadong vs. Chris Guiterrez
  • Anthony Smith vs. Khalil Rountree
  • Andre Muniz vs. Junyong Park
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey
  • Carlos Hernandez vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Allan Nascimento
  • Sung Hyun Park vs. Shannon Ross
  • Kevin Jousset vs. Song Kenan
  • Stephanie Egger vs. Luana Santos
  • Talita Alencar vs. Rayanne dos Santos

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Song Yadong eyes Petr Yan after Chris Gutierrez: ‘I want to know whose boxing is better’

Song Yadong hopes he can fight Petr Yan after UFC Fight Night 233.

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] hopes he can fight [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] after UFC Fight Night 233.

Yadong (20-7-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Chris Gutierrez[/autotag] (20-4-2 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) in the Dec. 9 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card was originally scheduled to take place in Yadong’s home country of China before it was shifted to Vegas.

Yadong says he was initially offered former UFC bantamweight champion Yan for Dec. 9, but never received a contract after hearing Yan was injured. But if he can get past Gutierrez, Yadong would like it if the UFC revisited that matchup.

“Yes, after this fight, I still want to fight Petr,” Song said in an interview with Fanatics View. “I want to know whose boxing is better, in bantamweight. I want to fight him.”

Winner of four of his past five, Yadong admits that a win over lower-ranked Gutierrez likely doesn’t do much for him in his ascent up the bantamweight rankings.

“I think I just need two more (fights),” Yadong said. “Next fight, Petr, and one more, then I will get the title shot.”

The 25-year-old Team Alpha Male fighter expects his well-rounded skillset to be too much for Gutierrez.

“He never encountered the kind of style I have,” Yadong said. “I’m faster, hit hard and I have great grappling skills, but I also have leg kicks. It’s going to be an exciting fight.”

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

UFC Shanghai moved from China, now targeted for Las Vegas

The UFC has abruptly pivoted and moved its Dec. 9 event from Shanghai to Las Vegas.

UFC Shanghai is no longer.

Originally expected to take place Dec. 9 in China, UFC Fight Night 233 will now take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for reasons not yet known.

Two people with knowledge of the switch recently informed MMA Junkie of the move but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA manager Shu Hirata, of On The Road Management, was first to reveal the switch on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Additionally, the four Road to UFC bouts expected to take place on the undercard will no longer be a part of the Dec. 9 event. There is no public reschedule date at this time.

The light heavyweight bout between Brendson Ribeiro and Mingyang Zhang has been canceled as a result of location change-related travel issues, multiple people told MMA Junkie.

It’s unclear how many other bouts originally planned for this event will be effected due to the switch of locations. There were numerous Asia-based fighters on tap prior to the move, so more travel issues could emerge.

Absent the Road to UFC bouts, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Dec. 9 now includes:

  • Chris Gutierrrez vs. Song Yadong
  • Andre Muniz vs. Jun Yong Park
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey
  • Carlos Hernandez vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Su Mudaerji vs. Allan Nascimento
  • Hyun Sung Park vs. Shannon Ross
  • Kevin Jousset vs. Song Kenan

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