Overview
- The five-round bantamweight main event between Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong is set for Saturday at Shanghai’s Oriental Sports Center.
- Betting markets list Nurmagomedov as a heavy favorite with consensus odds around -500 and Song near +380, implying roughly an 80% chance for Nurmagomedov.
- Nurmagomedov is 20-1 as a pro with one loss in a five-round title fight to Merab Dvalishvili and he averages more than four takedowns per 15 minutes in the UFC.
- Song traveled to Georgia to train with Olympic and world-class wrestlers to counter Nurmagomedov’s style and he arrives coming off a May guillotine submission of Deiveson Figueiredo.
- A Nurmagomedov win would strengthen his path back into title contention while a Song victory in front of a home crowd would likely force the UFC to move him into the next challenger conversation prior to the October trilogy.