Song Yadong Next Fight

4/9/2022 admin

When Marlon Vera fights at UFC on ESPN 8, it could be against none other than UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber.

The 23-year-old, Song Yadong is coming in with a 16-4-1 (1 NC) record. Yadong will be fighting for the first time since a win via unanimous decision against Marlon Vera at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Song Yadong of China poses on the scale during the UFC Fight Night weigh-in on December 6, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) “I think fighting in that cage.

According to a report from ESPN, Song Yadong (14-4-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC), who trains under Faber (35-11 MMA, 11-7 UFC) at Team Alpha Male, is experiencing a visa issue that could preclude him from competing against Vera on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 8.

No details were given as to what the visa issue is or why it’s coming up now, just one day before the scheduled fight.

To the surprise of many, Faber weighed in Friday morning to official serve as an alternate. He came in at 153 pounds, while Vera was 145.5. Both men usually compete at bantamweight. Yadong also tipped the scale at 145.5.

In a statement to ESPN, Faber explained the surprise weigh-in appearance and provided an update on the situation.

“Song was supposed to be cleared, but they were having last minute visa issues. So there were a bunch of wild scenarios being thrown around,” he said. “Jets to other countries etc. to get issues cleared. I told UFC worst-case scenario I would be out there and could step in. So everything was all good to go, and then something came up. There was a scramble and a panic last night, so I cut some weight to get under 155 to possibly be a last-minute replacement. Sounds like it is resolved, but I’m cleared to fight just in case.”

Faber, who last competed in December and lost to Petr Yan at UFC 245, has expressed his interest to continue fighting after breaking his previous retirement to return last July.

The matchup between Vera (17-5-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Yadong was on-and-off leading up to fight week. After it was initially reported, Vera implied on Twitter that the fight wasn’t happening. Shortly thereafter, an Instagram post by Yadong indicated it was.