Song Yadong stuns Umar Nurmagomedov with brutal second-round KO. Song Yadong scores the biggest win of his UFC career by knocking out Umar Nurmagomedov.
The UFC returns to China, bringing a high-stakes bantamweight showdown to Shanghai as Umar Nurmagomedov faces Song Yadong on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at the Oriental Sports Center.
Both fighters enter the Octagon with something to prove, and neither man can afford to take a step backward in the stacked bantamweight division.
Umar Nurmagomedov enters the Shanghai main event with a 20-1 professional record and looks to build on two consecutive victories since suffering the first loss of his career.
Nurmagomedov’s most recent outing comes against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 324 on January 24, 2026. He controls the fight for three rounds and earns a unanimous decision, adding another former UFC champion to his résumé. The victory moves him to 20-1 overall and 8-1 inside the UFC.
Before Figueiredo, Nurmagomedov gets back into the win column against Mario Bautista at UFC 321 in October 2025. He puts together a disciplined performance and takes another unanimous decision.
Those victories come after the biggest setback of his career.
Nurmagomedov suffers his first professional defeat against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 in January 2025, losing a five-round unanimous decision in their bantamweight title fight. The loss ends Nurmagomedov’s unbeaten run and denies him the UFC championship.
He responds with back-to-back wins over Bautista and Figueiredo, putting himself right back into the title conversation.
Song Yadong enters the fight with a 23-9-1 record and carries serious momentum after producing one of the biggest wins of his recent run.
His latest victory comes against Deiveson Figueiredo on May 30, 2026, in Macau. Song dominates the former flyweight champion before snatching a guillotine choke at 4:42 of the second round, forcing the tap and securing a statement submission victory.
That victory follows a difficult night against Sean O’Malley at UFC 324 in January 2026. O’Malley wins their three-round bantamweight clash by unanimous decision, handing Song another setback against one of the division’s elite.
Before O’Malley, Song picks up an important victory over Henry Cejudo in February 2025, winning via technical decision after an accidental eye poke prevents the fight from continuing.
Song also carries a loss to Petr Yan, who defeats him by unanimous decision at UFC 299 in March 2024. But Song has responded well to setbacks throughout his UFC career, and his latest submission of Figueiredo gives him plenty of confidence heading into Shanghai.
Nurmagomedov wastes little time trying to take the fight to grappling. He closes the distance and shoots for a takedown, but Song immediately threatens him with a guillotine choke. Nurmagomedov manages to escape the submission attempt and settles into half guard, where he uses his top control to keep Song grounded.
Song finds himself away from the fence, giving him little room to scramble. Nurmagomedov stays heavy on top and controls the position for more than half the round. Eventually, Song works his way back to his feet and gets another chance to reset.
Nurmagomedov’s wrestling and positional control give him a strong opening round.
Song comes out with more confidence in the second round.
Nurmagomedov again looks for a takedown, but this time Song stuffs the attempt inside the opening minute. That defensive stop gives Song an important boost as the fight returns to striking range.
Nurmagomedov lands a punch, but Song absorbs it and keeps moving forward.
The two fighters then appear to accidentally clash heads, but neither man allows the collision to stop the action. Song begins pressing forward as Nurmagomedov looks for another opening. Then everything changes.
Song fires a right uppercut that catches Nurmagomedov around the ear and immediately hurts him. Nurmagomedov drops to the canvas, and Song swarms with follow-up punches.
The referee rushes in and stops the fight at 1:48 of Round 2.
“I want to say, who’s next? Who’s next?!”
Song, through the translator, shouts out his team. Then he grabs the mic and, in English, calls for a title shot. Screams for it, really. He also says he will be the first male Chinese UFC champion. The victory gives Song a massive boost in the bantamweight title picture, while Nurmagomedov suffers only the second defeat of his professional career.
Nurmagomedov comes looking to wrestle his way toward another title shot. Song Yadong turns the fight upside down with one devastating uppercut. Shanghai gets a massive upset and the bantamweight division suddenly has a new problem to deal with.
