It wasn't the strongest performance, but it was a win when it mattered for Sean O'Malley, as he defeats Song Yadong in the co-main event of UFC 324.
O'Malley seemed to have the advantage in the striking department during a quiet first round. Yadong, however, took control with a late takedown in spite of a guillotine attempt from O'Malley.
Yadong's grappling pressure was on display in the second round again, landing another pair of takedowns and controlling the action by focusing on O'Malley's leg, compromising it.
O'Malley turned up the heat in the third round, getting his striking going and scoring a decision win.
Sean O'Malley Gets Needed Rebound With Decision Win Over Song Yadong At UFC 324
This was O'Malley's first fight after losing back-to-back bantamweight title fights to Merab Dvalishvili at Noche UFC 2: UFC 306 and UFC 316. O'Malley held the UFC bantamweight title from his win at UFC 292 until his first loss to Dvalishvili.
Yadong is now 3-2 in his last five, entering tonight's bout off a win over Henry Cejudo at UFC Seattle last year.