The UFC Shanghai crowd was given a treat to put a bow on a fun night of action, as Song Yadong pulled off a shocker, becoming the first fighter to finish Umar Nurmagomedov.
“I will be the first Chinese UFC champion!” Yadong said in the post-fight interview, through a translator. “Give me the title shot!”
After the two felt things out for a couple of minutes, Nurmagomedov shot in for a takedown and secured it, though Yadong gave a scare with a guillotine attempt. Nurmagomedov controlled him on the ground, though Yadong managed to get back to his feet about a minute later after a scramble.
Loose and ready, Yadong stopped a takedown attempt from Nurmagomedov early into round two. Then, as Nurmagomedov went low for another takedown attempt, Yadong caught him with an uppercut, putting the Dagestani former title challenger out cold.
Yadong has now won two straight and five of his last seven. He came into tonight off a finish of Deiveson Figueiredo in May at UFC Macau.
Yadong’s only two losses in this span have come to current bantamweight champion Petr Yan and former champion Sean O’Malley. Yadong now looks to vie for the next shot against the winner of Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili.
