Chinese MMA stars Song Yadong, Yan Xiaonan to take top billing at UFC Fight Night Shanghai
Song will take on former title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov of Russia next month, while Yan faces Brazilian Denise Gomes
Fresh from his stand-out win at UFC Fight Night Macau, China star Song Yadong has been handed the headline spot for the promotion’s return to Shanghai next month.
Song will battle former title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov at the Pudong Development Bank Shanghai Oriental Sports Centre on August 29, looking for another signature victory to boost his own hopes of a shot at the division crown.
Nurmagomedov (20-1), from Russia, was originally scheduled to fight David Martinez in Abu Dhabi on July 25, but will now take on the Chinese 28-year-old (23-9-1) in a co-main event.
Yan Xiaonan, China’s first female UFC athlete and a former strawweight title challenger, takes on surging No 13-ranked Denise Gomes in another.
Before his stunning submission of Deiveson Figueiredo at the Galaxy Arena in May, Song told the South China Morning Post that if he just kept winning, then “one or two fights and I’ll get a title shot”.
But Nurmagomedov has title ambitions of his own and is riding a two-fight win streak, and the Russian, who boasts seven submission victories and five first-round finishes, could well view this as a must-win if he is to get another crack at the belt.