UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song Live Results, Updates and Highlights

Song Yadong entered the Octagon with Umar Nurmagomedov as a huge underdog, with few obvious paths to victory.

He didn't get the memo.

With the Shanghai crowd on the edge of their seats, the Chinese star delivered an absolutely stunning upset, knocking Nurmagomedov out cold with an uppercut in round two.

This is an absolutely stunning result, and one that immediately turns Song into one of the top contenders in the bantamweight division. Time will tell if he gets a title opportunity before former champ Sean O'Malley, but he is right there.

"Who's next?" he said in his post-fight interview. "Nobody believed me, but I trusted myself, and I got the win."

"Give me the title shot!"

In victory, Song is now 24-9-1, with two stoppage wins behind him. Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, falls to 20-1.

Absolutely incredible stuff in Shanghai. We'll be talking about this one for weeks.

It's now time for our main event of the evening, and there's no question it's a big one.

The fight will be contested at bantamweight, with former title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov (20-1) taking on China's own Song Yadong (23-9-1).

Nurmagomedov, who trains under the great Khabib Nurmagomedov, has lost just once as a pro, suffering a decision loss in a title fight with Merab Dvalishvili early last year. Since then, he has rattled off back-to-back decision wins over Mario Bautista and Deiveson Figueiredo, and a third victory could set him up for another crack at the belt—particularly if he gets a finish.

Song has been much more inconsistent than Nurmagomedov, which is really all that's kept him from fighting for the belt himself. However, he's fresh off a submission win over Figueiredo, and could completely change his career if he wins this fight in Shanghai. It's definitely not going to be easy, but he's got the skill and firepower to pull it off.

This should be an excellent fight, whether it's over in a round or it goes all five. We're talking about the highest levels of MMA here. Let's get to it.

Denise Gomes picked up the biggest win of her career in Saturday's co-headliner, knocking out former title challenger Yan Xiaonan with a step-in elbow and volley of follow-up punches in round one. It was an absolutely violent victory, and one that unsurprisingly left the Shanghai crowd in stunned silence.

With the win, Gomes (13-3) has now won five-straight fights. After defeating Yan, she is easily one of the top contenders in her division, and in prime position for a clash with reigning champion Mackenzie Dern.

"I feel very happy right now," she said in her post-fight interview.

For Yan (19-6), the future suddenly looks quite bleak. The Chinese contender has now lost back-to-back fights, and has not tasted victory since she defeated Tabatha Ricci by decision in November of 2024.

After a handful of very entertaining fights, we've now reached our co-main event.

This one will be contested at strawweight, with former title challenger Yan Xiaonan (19-5) taking on visiting Brazilian Denise Gomes (12-3).

Yan, who came up short in a title fight with Zhang Weili at UFC 300, has not fought since she lost a decision to Virna Jandiroba well over a year ago. Gomes is also riding a bit of a layoff, having not fought since last November, but has won four-straight fights.

This is a classic clash of experience and youth, and the outcome will tell us a lot about the immediate future of the UFC strawweight division. Let's get to it.

Kai Asakura was in classic form in Shanghai, knocking out Aoriqileng with a head-kick and salvo of follow-up punches in round two of their bantamweight fight.

With this result, the former Rizin star is now 23-6 overall, and more importantly, 2-0 as a member of the UFC bantamweight division, with both of his victories in the weight class coming by way of KO. His submission losses down at flyweight still give plenty of reason to be concerned about his grappling, but he is clearly much more comfortable in his new division, and evidently has the firepower to cause a lot of problems for his opponents.

"My striking is the best, right?" he said in his post-fight interview.

For Aoriqileng, that's now two losses in a row. His overall record sits at 26-14.

Next up, we've got a bantamweight clash between Japan's Kai Asakura (22-6) and China's Aoriqileng (16-13).

Asakura, a former Rizin champ, had a bit of a rough start in the UFC, losing back-to-back fights to Alexandre Pantoja and Tim Elliott, both by submission. However, he then moved up to bantamweight, where he made an immediate statement with a first-round KO of Cameron Smotherman—just the kind of performance he became known for in the Rizin ring.

Unlike Asakura, Aoriqileng has been in the UFC for years. He's been hot and cold as a member of the roster, and is currently riding a TKO loss to Cody Haddon.

This should be a fun one, however long it lasts. Let's get to it.

Sumudaerji got a much more favorable result in his rematch with Alex Perez.

After their first fight ended with a No Contest due to an inadvertent low blow, the Chinese fighter defeated his American rival by unanimous decision in Shanghai. Perez was not without his moments in the fight, racking up close to five minutes of control time on the mat, but ultimately didn't do enough with his advantageous positions to outwork his opponent.

In victory, Sumudaerj is now 20-7 overall, with wins in his last four fights. He will make a big jump in the rankings when they're updated next week.

In defeat, Perez is now 26-11. He has lost three of his last four fights.

Up next, we've got an appealing flyweight scrap between former title challenger Alex Perez (26-10), and China's Sumudaerji (19-7).

This will actually be the second time the two flyweights have met in the Octagon. Their first meeting occurred back in May in Macau, but it unfortunately ended with a No Contest after an inadvertent low blow from Sumudaerji.

They will be looking for a much more decisive result in Shanghai. Let's see how it goes.

Welcome to the UFC, Liu Ce!

The Chinese light heavyweight's kickboxing experience was on full display in Shanghai, as he lit up his opponent Levi Rodrigues Jr. en route to an absolutely vicious first-round KO. He ate some hard shots in pursuit of the knockout—something he'll want to to avoid doing as he begins to face tougher opposition—but it was a stunning finish that will give pause to anybody who is offered the chance to fight him going forward.

In victory, Liu is now 4-1 as pro MMA fighter. Rodrigues, meanwhile, falls to 5-2, with stoppage losses in his first two UFC fights.

Up next, we move to the light heavyweight division, as China's Ce Liu (3-1) takes on Levi Rodrigues Jr. of Brazil (5-1).

While Liu's record definitely looks a little sparse, it's important to note that he had a long and successful kickboxing career before making the jump to MMA, so he's far from a combat sports newbie.

This fight in Shanghai will mark his UFC debut.

His opponent Rodrigues will be making his second walk to the Octagon following a stoppage loss to Felipe Franco in his UFC debut in July.

Bilal Hasan is still undefeated.

The flyweight prospect improved to 10-0 in the opening bout of Saturday's main card, weathering a bit of early adversity to stop Nilson Rojas with a right hand in round two.

The win marks a successful UFC debut for the Indonesian-American. While it's too early to call him a contender at 125 pounds, he's clearly a fighter to watch, and a welcome addition to the weight class.

The UFC Shanghai main card will kick off in about 15 minutes.

We'll get things started in the flyweight division, where Bilal Hasan (9-0) will take on Nilson Rojas (9-0).

Hasan, as some fans will remember, earned a UFC contract with a 40-second knockout of Mridul Saikia just a few weeks ago. Rojas, a big underdog, will be making his UFC debut.

Someone's 0 has got to go. Let's see who can keep their unbeaten record intact in Shanghai.