Song Yadong submitted Deiveson Figueiredo with a guillotine choke late in the second round to headline UFC Macao, with only one of seven Chinese fighters on the card picking up a win. Sergei Pavlovich returned to dominant form, stopping Glover Teixeira in just 39 seconds. The event produced nine finishes across thirteen bouts, seven of them in the first round, and Askar Askarov scored a highlight-reel knockout in a bantamweight return.
Song Yadong delivered a statement performance on home soil, submitting Deiveson Figueiredo with a guillotine choke late in the second round to headline UFC Macao on June 1. The finish capped a night that produced nine stoppages across thirteen bouts, seven of them coming in the opening round.
Song, known as the Kung Fu Kid, improved to 22-9-1 and moves to seventh in the bantamweight rankings at just 28 years old. The Chinese fighter averages an impressive 4.42 significant strikes per minute, making the submission finish a rare but emphatic departure from his usual output. The guillotine choke was particularly notable given that Song attempts barely one-tenth of a submission per fifteen minutes across his career.
Figueiredo, ranked fifth at bantamweight, falls to 25-6-1 with the loss. The Brazilian, nicknamed Deus da Guerra, is 38 years old and had been averaging 2.63 significant strikes per minute along with 1.61 takedowns per fifteen minutes heading into the fight. He carries a 53 percent striking accuracy mark, among the sharper rates in the division.
Elsewhere on the card, Sergei Pavlovich announced his return to form in brutal fashion, stopping Glover Teixeira just 39 seconds into their bout. Teixeira, the 46-year-old Brazilian veteran who holds a 33-9-0 record, possesses a six-foot-two frame and a 76-inch reach but had no answer for Pavlovich's early aggression. Askar Askarov also turned heads with a highlight-reel knockout in a bantamweight contest.
The event was a difficult night for the host nation overall, with only one of seven Chinese fighters on the card earning a victory.
Why it matters
- Song's win over a top-five ranked opponent pushes him deeper into bantamweight title contention
- Figueiredo's second consecutive defeat raises questions about his trajectory in a stacked 135-pound division
- Pavlovich's 39-second stoppage reestablishes him as a heavyweight force after a rough patch
- The card's nine finishes in thirteen bouts signals a lively period of activity in multiple weight classes
