Song Yadong impresses Aljamain Sterling with stellar knockout of Ricky Simon

At UFC Vegas 72, Song Yadong dominated Ricky Simon in the main event, which impressed division champion Aljamain Sterling, among others. The No.8-ranked bantamweight scored a spectacular fifth-round knockout victory over Simon.

After a fairly even first round, Yadong landed some heavy blows in the second. The damage started piling up and the effects of it started showing in Simon's performance. After an accidental collision of heads, Song Yadong scored a knockdown shortly after and continued to hurt Simon along the cage with crisp shots to the body.

In response, Simon executed an excellent takedown in the third round, but Yadong once again landed heavy blows in the final two minutes.

'The Kung Fu Kid' remained the more active combatant in the fourth round, landing solid leg kicks and investing in body attacks. Simply put, Simon could not find his flow and in the final seconds of the round, Yadong scored a tremendous knockdown that started off with a brutal hook. The referee intervened to stop the fight and Song Yadong walked away victorious.

Aljamain Sterling took to Twitter to react to Song Yadong's victory at UFC Vegas 72. In his words:

"That dude Song is a beast fr [for real] ! #UFCVegas72"

Check out the tweet below:

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Song Yadong demands a fight against a top-five fighter following his win over Ricky Simon at UFC Vegas 72

Song Yadong impressed the MMA community with a statement-making performance at UFC Vegas 72. The Chinese MMA fighter returned to winning ways after suffering a TKO (doctor's stoppage) loss to Cory Sandhagen in his previous bout.

With this victory, Yadong extended his UFC record to 9 victories in twelve bouts (2 losses and one No contest). He is currently ranked eighth in the division and this victory will bring him one step closer to the title contention landscape.

Reacting to his performance and what he wants next in the post-fight interview, Song Yadong stated:

"[I'm] extremely happy tonight. Ricky Simon is a very tough opponent. Today is my night.... So next I want to fight top-five fighters. I have heavy hands in this division.... And a good wrestler [with] good defense."

Speaking about who he wants next, Yadong added:

"Sean O'Malley or Chito Vera, you want to fight again [for a] rematch? If you don't agree with the first fight, let's go."

Yadong faced Marlon Vera back in May 2020 and won the fight by unanimous decision.

Watch Yadong's post-fight interview below: