5 takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo

The UFC visited Macau, China earlier for a Fight Night event. The event, in the end, turned out to be hugely entertaining.

UFC Fight Night: Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo featured some tremendous performances and some of the very best finishes of 2024.

So with plenty of talking points, this event turned out to be far more memorable than people thought it might be.

Here are five takeaways from UFC Fight Night: Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo.

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#5. Ming Shi scored one of the best knockouts of the year

Last night's preliminary card was filled with largely unknown fighters, as the third season of Road to UFC - essentially an Asian TUF without the reality hijinx - concluded.

Most of the fights on offer were perfectly acceptable, but it was strawweight prospect Ming Shi who really stole the show. She landed one of the best knockouts of 2024 in the third round of her bout with Xiaocan Feng.

The fight was largely a back-and-forth one, with both women winning a round each going into the third round.

However, it was Shi who then took the initiative. After just under a minute, she uncorked one of the most stunning head kicks in recent memory, knocking Feng out on impact.

To make matters worse for Feng, referee Kevin Sataki was painfully out of range, allowing Shi to land some largely needless extra blows before she was pulled away.

In the end, Feng appeared to convulse before she came around, and was taken from the octagon on a stretcher in a scary scene.

Still, it didn't take away from what was a truly brilliant knockout, and if there's any justice, it should end up on all of 2024's highlight reels.

Will Shi go on to find UFC success? Who knows, but even if she doesn't, she'll always have this insane knockout.

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#4. Muslim Salikhov might be the king of the wheel kick

Welterweight veteran Muslim Salikhov is nicknamed 'The King of Kung-Fu', but after today's show, calling him the king of the wheel kick might be more accurate.

The Dagestani needed just under four minutes to take out foe Kenan Song, dispatching the Chinese star with an expertly timed spinning wheel kick.

Remarkably, the kick was basically a carbon copy of the spinning wheel kick Salikhov landed to take out Andre Fialho in November 2022, almost exactly two years ago.

'The King of Kung-Fu' now has 14 first-round finishes to his name, a pretty impressive record by anyone's standards.

At the age of 40, he's never going to climb into title contention at this stage, but when he can perform like this, it's no surprise that the UFC still loves to showcase him.

This stunning knockout won him a $50k bonus, and probably stands up as one of the best of 2024, too.

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#3. Carlos Ulberg has arrived as a true threat to the elite at 205 pounds

Coming into today's event, most observers were in agreement that it was unlikely that the light-heavyweight clash between Volkan Oezdemir and Carlos Ulberg would go the distance.

After all, 'No Time' and 'Black Jag' had both made their names off the back of violent finishes, with Ulberg taking out Alonzo Menifield in a matter of seconds in his last fight.

In the end, though, the fight did indeed last all three rounds, but that didn't make it any less entertaining.

The two men exchanged big shots throughout the bout, with neither really backing down until the final buzzer sounded.

In the end, though, the clash probably told us more about Ulberg - who claimed victory via unanimous decision - than another quick win would've done.

'Black Jag' showed off a strong gas tank and the ability to control his pace, he took plenty of big shots from Oezdemir without flinching and managed to clearly outland his most difficult opponent.

Was it as fun to watch as his wild victory over Menifield? No, but it was definitely proof that he's ready for the elite level in the UFC's light-heavyweight division. It's time to consider Israel Adesanya's training partner as a real title threat.

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#2. Wang Cong's shock loss was a reminder that anything can happen in the UFC

The biggest betting favorite on today's card was flyweight prospect Wang Cong. The former standout kickboxer - who holds a win in the ring over current UFC champ Valentina Shevchenko - was considered a -900 favorite to come out on top against Gabriella Fernandes.

It was easy to see why. 'The Joker' had knocked Victoria Leonardo out in devastating fashion in her octagon debut earlier in the year, while Fernandes came into the fight with a losing record in the UFC.

However, when it came to fight time, Fernandes reminded everyone that anything can happen in the octagon, as she produced one of 2024's biggest upsets.

After being firmly outstruck in the first round, the Brazilian hurt Cong with a head kick in the second, and then decked her with a straight left. From there, she pounced, and before 'The Joker' could recover, Fernandes strangled her with a rear naked choke, forcing a tapout.

Few fans could've seen this one coming, and while Cong may well go on to have a better career in the octagon overall, it might take her some time to recover from this stunning result.

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#1. Petr Yan is still a very real title contender at 135 pounds

Today's headliner pitted two former UFC champions against one another, as Petr Yan faced off with Deiveson Figueiredo. After five entertaining rounds, it was Yan who got his hand raised in what could be a pivotal performance for his career.

Many fans wrote off 'No Mercy' after he suffered three straight defeats to Aljamain Sterling, Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.

However, his win over Song Yadong earlier this year suggested that talk of a true slide down the ladder for the Russian might've been premature. Today was more evidence of that being the case.

Yan looked fantastic in this fight, dealing with a very dangerous opponent in excellent fashion. He largely outstruck 'Deus da Guerra' throughout the bout, putting together some nice combinations that kept the former flyweight king on his back foot.

Figueiredo did have his moments, but he never truly had 'No Mercy' hurt, and when the fight ended, there was no doubt as to who had won.

So is Yan a title contender again? It's hard to deny the idea. After all, his losses to Sterling and O'Malley were close calls, and while the clinch and ground game may still be his Achilles heel, few fighters will be able to handle him as Dvalishvili did.

Whether 'No Mercy' can reach those heights in 2025 remains to be seen, but for now, his career is firmly back on track.