Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon: UFC Fight Night Odds, Prediction
Ricky Simon is a -120 favourite to win on the MMA odds, while Song Yadong is a -105 underdog. The fight should start around 9:30 p.m. Eastern.
Song Yadong UFC Fight Night Odds
Yadong was originally to fight Ricky Simon at last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 222 card from Las Vegas but it was pushed back a week to this Saturday when Renato Moicano suffered an injury that forced him out of Saturday’s scheduled headliner against Arman Tsarukyan. With Moicano out, Tsarukyan was pulled from the card entirely. Because this is now the headline bout, it’s five rounds instead of three.
Aljamain Sterling is the UFC bantamweight champion, and the 25-year-old Yadong, from China, is ranked No. 8. He is 19-7-1 in a pro career dating to 2013. Yadong has competed in a few organizations and made his UFC debut with a first-round submission (guillotine choke) of Bharat Khandre in November 2017. Yadong’s draw came against Cody Stamman in December 2019.
“Kung Fu Kid” had a three-fight winning streak snapped in his recent visit to the Octagon in October 2022, losing via fourth-round TKO (doctor stoppage) vs. Cory Sandhagen. A gruesome gash on Yadong’s forehead, right above his eye, ended it.
“Actually, I don’t learn a lot from that fight because I was cut early and it wasn’t my plan,” said Song recently. “My plan was to push him harder after the second round, but I got cut early in the second round, so I couldn’t take him down, couldn’t kick because I couldn’t see him. … A lot of people think the cut was bothering me, but my right eye was worse — the orbital bone was broken, so I could see three Corys in front of me. I had to cover my right eye and use my left eye; I could barely see.”
Song has eight wins by KO/TKO, eight by decision and three by submission. Four of his six losses are via the judges. His favoured method of victory Saturday is by KO/TKO/DQ at +200, by points at +550 and submission at +1200 with a draw at +6600.
The 5-foot-8 Song has a reach of 67 inches and his fights average 10:55. He lands 4.55 significant strikes per minute with 41 per cent accuracy and absorbs 3.93 with 59 per cent defence. Song’s takedown average is 0.63 per 15 minutes with 55 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence 71 per cent.
Ricky Simon UFC Fight Night Odds
The 30-year-old Simon, from Vancouver in Washington State, is 20-3 in a career dating to 2014 and ranked No. 10 in the division. He is a former Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight champion.
Since back-to-back losses to Urijah Faber and Ron Font, Simon has won five straight (fifth-longest win streak in bantamweight division). He comes off a second-round submission (arm-triangle choke) of Jack Shore in July 2022.
“Everything we were preparing for and thought he was going to be bring, he brought. We were ready for it,” Simon said of ending Shore’s five-fight winning streak at the time. It remains Shore’s lone career loss in 18 bouts.
The 5-foot-6 Simon has a reach of 69 inches, two more than Yadong, and his fights average 11:52. Simon lands 3.04 significant strikes per minute with 44 per cent accuracy and absorbs 2.95 with 64 per cent defence. His takedown average is 6.55 per 15 minutes with 52 per cent accuracy, and his takedown defence is 75 per cent.
Ten of Simon’s wins are via the judges, six by KO/TKO and four by submission. He has one loss by each. For Saturday, his favoured method of victory is by decision at +175, followed by submission at +4000 and KO/TKO/DQ at +775.
The over-under for rounds is 4.5, with the under a -135 favourite. That it goes the distance is -165 with no at +135.
UFC Fight Night: Yadong vs. Simon Prediction
Yadong inside distance