Song Yadong submits Figueiredo with guillotine choke to win UFC Macau main event

Song Yadong submitted Deiveson Figueiredo with a guillotine choke at 4:42 of the second round to win the bantamweight main event at UFC Macau on Saturday, delivering a memorable finish in his first fight in China since 2018. The submission — only Song’s second in the UFC — came against a two-time flyweight champion who had made a promising start at 135 pounds.

The opening round offered little of what had been anticipated. Song entered as a heavy favourite, with his size, youth, and striking expected to overwhelm the 38-year-old Figueiredo, but the first five minutes were largely uneventful. The lone meaningful power punch of the round landed for Figueiredo, who also ended the frame in top position after Song slipped throwing a kick.

The finish arrived suddenly in round two. Song appeared to be edging the stand-up exchanges before Figueiredo shot for a late takedown. Song quickly reversed the situation, snatching Figueiredo’s neck and locking in the guillotine to force the tap.

Afterwards, Song credited Team Alpha Male head coach Urijah Faber and his teammates for the improvement in his grappling. When asked about his next opponent, he kept it simple.

“I don’t give a f*ck, I take whatever you guys give me,” Song said. “Let’s go!”

It was Song’s first submission win since a guillotine choke finish of Bharat Khandare in his UFC debut back in 2017. Now ranked No. 7 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings at bantamweight, the 28-year-old has victories over former UFC champions Figueiredo and Henry Cejudo, as well as former WSOF champion Marlon Moraes. The win comes after a loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 324 and, while it is unlikely to dramatically shift his ranking, it keeps him relevant in a competitive division.

For Figueiredo, the defeat is a sobering one. He has now lost four of his last five fights at bantamweight, and his prospects of challenging for a title at 135 pounds look increasingly remote at 25-7-1.