UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Thiago Santos vs. Magomed Ankalaev

#2. UFC bantamweight: Marlon Moraes vs. Song Yadong

Can Song Yadong end the octagon run of Marlon Moraes this weekend?

On the face of it, this fight is a piece of really bizarre matchmaking from the UFC. Usually the promotion likes to match fighters coming off wins against one another. In this case, Song Yadong is coming off two straight wins, while Marlon Moraes is on a three-fight skid and hasn’t won since 2019.

When you consider that his most recent win was actually a hugely controversial one – a decision over Jose Aldo that probably should’ve gone the other way – ‘Magic’ could actually be on a five-fight losing streak. Therefore, there’s every chance that if he loses here, his octagon tenure could be over.

So can Yadong end the run of the Brazilian in the world’s biggest MMA promotion? It’s hard to say.

‘The Kung Fu Monkey’ has definitely looked good at times during his spell in the octagon. With an overall record of 7-1-1, he’s rightfully considered one of the better 135lbers in the promotion.

The Chinese fighter has been training with Team Alpha Male for some time now, something that’s clear from his fighting style. He throws quick strikes using a largely boxing-based game, has excellent grappling and can latch onto chokes if need be, too.

However, despite his last win coming via KO, he doesn’t quite possess the kind of power that the fighters who’ve recently beaten Moraes – Merab Dvalishvili, Rob Font and Cory Sandhagen – do.

More to the point, ‘Magic’ was actually beating Dvalishvili badly before the Georgian made a stirring comeback. If he can come into this bout on similar form, then his power, particularly in his low kicks, could give Yadong a lot of issues.

Overall, it’s worth remembering that Yadong struggled greatly with the striking of Kyler Phillips in his lone octagon loss. Phillips is hardly the dynamic fighter that Moraes is, even if the Brazilian is beginning to look a little shopworn.

Moraes’ run will come to an end in the near future, of that there can be no doubt, but this match looks good for him and he should get back into a winning run.

The Pick: Moraes via decision