With the loss of Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes due to a Harrison injury, it was Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong, a solid bantamweight scrap, served as Saturday’s UFC 324 co-main event.
O’Malley, a former bantamweight champion and for a time a red-hot, towering UFC star, had lost consecutive title fights to Merab Dvalishvili dating back to 2024.
Yadong, part of Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male, recorded a victory over Henry Cejudo.
Song immediately opened the fight with a low kick right to the touch of the gloves. O’Malley immediately showed off his footwork, switching stances and moving in and out. O’Malley would later show off a spinning back kick to the body, while Yadong ran with more conventional strikes.
Throughout the first half of the round, O’Malley used his size well, feinted a lot with his hands and kept his back away from the cage. Yadong didn’t take much damage, but he didn’t really land anything either. In the second half of the round he tried to close the distance, but O’Malley escaped and made sure to keep his back off the fence.
In the final minute, Yadong landed an outside kick before going into a takedown that landed on O’Malley’s own kick. “Suga” briefly defended with a guillotine but didn’t have it, and Yadong ended the round working inside the guard. Not much damage and not much top time in a close lap overall.
Song Yadong landed a sharp leg kick early in the second frame. The Chinese bantamweight seemed to have a little more spirit after finishing the first with a takedown. Yadong’s right hand was there, but O’Malley changed his stance and fired a jab up the middle. Another position change, and another. Those stance changes and O’Malley’s speed made Yadong’s leg kicks much less effective.
Two minutes later, Song landed a kick and drove O’Malley back, hoping to take Sean down. However, O’Malley was able to stop that, although Yadong stayed with him. Yadong would finally take down the former champion, this time with just over 90 seconds left on the clock. However, O’Malley scrambled out and got back to his feet, although he had to be careful not to get caught by a Yadong punch. O’Malley fired a teep kick to the midsection. Song landed left. The pair fought until the bell, with the third round likely to be the one to decide the fight, with Yadong 19-19 or 20-28 after two rounds.
Yadong opened round three, firing with his right hand. O’Malley went to the body, fired his jab and then absorbed a leg kick from Yadong. O’Malley’s attacks were met with more volume in this round. O’Malley’s length still did him good, and Yadong darted wildly in on a takedown from too far out. Sloppy, and O’Malley pulled away easily. Still, Sean didn’t do enough offensively. Yadong, despite his face being bloodied, was the more aggressive fighter and landed slightly more often. Yadong fanned out on a spinning attack. He landed a takedown, while O’Malley broke free. Sean landed a knee to the body seconds later. O’Malley landed a teep. O’Malley started coming on strong late and finished with a punch and a high kick.
It was up to the judges, with O’Malley getting the nod on all three scorecards. Then the “Suga Show” called for a title fight. “Petr Yan has something I want. All respect to Merab, he gets the next chance, well deserved,” O’Malley said after the win, telling Yan to sort things out with Merab.
Official result: Sean O’Malley def. Sean Yadong by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
#UFC #Sean #OMalley #decision #Song #Yadong