Song Yadong wants to fight top-5 bantamweights after defeating Ricky Simon, mentioning Marlon Vera and Sean O’Malley as possible opponents, but believes the company may not book him against O’Malley.
Song Yadong demolished Ricky Simon in the main event of UFC Vegas 72 and came prepared with a list of names he would like to fight next. After his victory via fifth-round TKO at the UFC APEX, Song mentioned bantamweights Marlon Vera and Sean O’Malley as ideal opponents, adding Rob Font and Petr Yan to the list during the post-fight press conference. However, the 25-year-old Chinese prospect thinks the company wouldn’t book him against O’Malley.
Song expressed his desire to fight top-5 fighters, saying, “I wanna fight top-5 fighters. Even Font — he’s [No.] 6, right? He’s ok. And ‘Chito’ Vera and Sean O’Malley — but probably they don’t give me Sean O’Malley, guys are protecting him. Whatever. Just top-5. My goal is to fight top-5 fighters this year.” When asked about his ideal timeframe for returning to the octagon, Song mentioned he would be open to competing again around July or August, depending on how his body heals after UFC Vegas 72.
O’Malley’s recent record includes a split decision victory over Yan in October 2022, remaining unbeaten in his past five fights since losing to Vera in 2020. On the other hand, Yan has lost four of his past five fights in the UFC. Vera had been on a great run before losing a split decision to Cory Sandhagen in March; notable wins include knockout victories against former UFC champions Dominick Cruz and Frankie Edgar. Font currently holds a record of 20-6 and recently rebounded from decision defeats to Jose Aldo and Chito Vera with a first-round knockout over Adrian Yanez earlier this month.