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Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Fight Night: Yan vs Figueiredo
Laying Out The Lineup For This Weekend’s Return To Macau
By E. Spencer Kyte, on X @spencerkyte
For the first time in more than a decade, the UFC descends upon Macau with a loaded Fight Night event headlined by a pivotal bantamweight matchup between former titleholders looking to solidify their respective places in the pecking order.
Saturday’s fight card at Galaxy Arena, which kicks off at 3am EST / 12am PST, not only boasts a stellar main event, but a pair of additional crucial contests, one in the women’s strawweight division, the other in the light heavyweight ranks, plus the return of one of the more interesting new additions to the roster, and the finals of this year’s Road to UFC tournaments.
It’s a packed bill with an early start time, and plenty to break down, so let’s get to it!
Main Event Matchup: Petr Yan vs Deiveson Figueiredo
The final bout on Saturday’s card is a highly anticipated clash between Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo.
Yan competes for the second time this year after snapping a three-fight slide in March with a unanimous decision win over Song Yadong. The former bantamweight titleholder is in an interesting position at the moment, having lost to each of the last three champions in the division, while still clearly being one of the top competitors in the weight class, and having limited options to face given his current position in the hierarchy.
Figueiredo has been rock steady since relocating to the 135-pound weight class last December, posting wins over Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt, and Marlon “Chito” Vera to climb to No. 5 in the rankings. He’s eschewed some of his aggressive striking in favor of more diversity in his offensive approach, utilizing his wrestling and grappling to make up for any speed or power advantages he left behind at flyweight.
It feels like fans have been asking for this fight since Figueiredo moved to bantamweight and now it’s finally happening. With a new champion on the throne and a presumptive No. 1 contender in place, these two could be battling it out to see who is next in line to challenge for the title or to determine who will face one of the other tenured top contenders in the division in the opening half of next year.
Either way, it should be an electric way to wrap up Saturday’s return to Macau and kick off the weekend in style!
Additional Main Card Contests
Yan Xiaonan vs Tabatha Ricci
Talented, ranked strawweights clash in the co-main event as recent title challenger Yan Xiaonan faces off with Tabatha Ricci.
The 35-year-old Yan competes in her native China for the first time since besting Syuri Kondo in Beijing six years ago. This is her first appearance since battling tooth-and-nail with Zhang Weili in their title bout at UFC 300, where the challenger gave the champion everything she could handle heading into the final round before coming up short.
After debuting on short notice up a division against current flyweight title threat Manon Fiorot, Ricci has gone 6-1, entering Saturday’s contest on a two-fight winning streak. She edged out Tecia Pennington in May and then claimed a unanimous decision win over Angela Hill in August to climb to No. 10 in the rankings and set up the biggest fight of her career this weekend.
Song Kenan vs Muslim Salikhov
Veteran welterweights Song Kenan and Muslim Salikhov meet in the middle of this weekend’s main card in what promises to be a technical, entertaining striking match.
Song has gone 2-1 in three previous UFC appearances in his home country, and returns this weekend off a convincing decision win over Ricky Glenn at UFC 305 in August. While he dropped three of four prior to his most recent victory, the veteran has consistently faced a solid slate of opposition and proven to be a tough out.
The 40-year-old Salikhov continues to keep chugging along, having most recently snapped a two-fight skid with a split decision win over Santiago Ponzinibbio in his adopted hometown of Denver back in July. The veteran is 7-3 over his last 10 starts, and while the speed may have waned a little, his technical acumen and diversity of attacks remains impressive at this stage of his career.
Both of these men can be counted on to leave everything inside the Octagon whenever they make the walk and this weekend should be no different. While this is a return home for Song, Salikhov also has an extensive history competing in the host nation, so both should be welcomed with warm cheers, and will likely be pressing to give the fans their money’s worth.
Wang Cong vs Gabriella Fernandes
Intriguing newcomer Wang Cong makes her second UFC appearance of the year, stepping in against former LFA titleholder Gabriella Fernandes.
Wang opened the year with a unanimous decision win over UFC vet Wu Yanan in Thailand before impressing in her non-tournament appearance on the second Road to UFC episode of the season. In her promotional debut in August, the 32-year-old showed why so many people are curious to see her compete at this level, as she dispatched Victoria Leonardo in just 62 seconds.
After landing on the wrong side of the scorecards in each of her first two UFC showings, Fernandes rebounded with a split decision win over Carli Judice in June to earn her first UFC win. A physically imposing athlete, the Brazilian looked much more comfortable last time out, winning the first two rounds on two of the three scorecards before fading in the third.
Volkan Oezdemir vs Carlos Ulberg
Light heavyweight contenders Volkan Oezdemir and Carlos Ulberg face off in a potentially combustible clash that carries more divisional significance than people seem to recognize.
Oezdemir, who fought for the title back at UFC 220, has posted back-to-back finishes to re-establish himself as a threat in the 205-pound weight class. Last time out, “No Time” wasted little time putting away Johnny Walker, knocking out the towering Brazilian at the midway point of the opening round of their June clash in Saudi Arabia.
Ulberg enters on a six-fight winning streak, having registered stoppages in each of his last five victories. The strapping City Kickboxing representative followed up his third-round submission win over Da-un Jung last year with a 12-second knockout win over Alonzo Menifield in St. Louis back in the spring.
Zhang Mingyang vs Ozzy Diaz
Chinese prospect Zhang Mingyang makes his second trip into the Octagon, welcoming former LFA middleweight champ Ozzy Diaz to the UFC on Saturday in Macau.
Like Wang, Zhang impressed the UFC brass with a non-tournament win over Tuco Tokkos during the 2022 Road to UFC season. After being signed to the promotion and having a pair of opportunities go by the boards last year, the 26-year-old “Mountain Tiger” finally made his debut in February, finishing Brendon Ribeiro in under two minutes at UFC 298.
The 33-year-old Diaz has earned back-to-back stoppage wins over Chuck Campbell and Bevon Lewis since moving to light heavyweight following his Dana White’s Contender Series loss to Joe Pyfer in 2022. He’s never been out of the second round in his career despite fighting solid competition throughout his career, which means Zhang better be prepared for the early offensive assault that is sure to be coming his way.
Preliminary Card Matchups
Baergeng Jieleysi vs SuYoung You
Baergeng Jieleysi and SuYoung You face off in the finals of this year’s Road to UFC bantamweight tournament in the final preliminary card bout of the day.
Baergeng advanced with a second-round submission win over Li Yunfeng in the opening round and a unanimous decision victory over Tokitaki Nakanishi in the semis, while You posted consecutive decision wins over Shohei Nose and Daermisi Zhawupasi. The first two bantamweight tournament winners, Rinya Nakamura and ChangHo Lee, each show tremendous promise, so it will be interesting to see if this year’s winner can add their name to the growing list of intriguing talents coming out of Asia.
Kiru Singh Sahota vs DongHun Choi
The flyweight finale will be a battle between England and South Korea, as Kiru Singh Sahota takes on DongHun Choi.
A towering flyweight, Manchester Top Team’s Singh Sahota advanced to the finals with decision wins over Shuai Yin and Ruel Panales, advancing to 12-2 for his career in the process. Unbeaten in eight pro bouts, the confident Choi has found himself on the favorable side of consecutive split decision verdicts in wins over Jiniushiyue and Angad Bisht.
Shi Ming vs Feng Xiaocan
It’s an all-Chinese finale in the strawweight division as Shi Ming and Xiaocan Feng share the Octagon on Saturday.
Shi enters on a four-fight winning streak, having edged out Dong Huaxiang in the semifinals back in August after out-hustling Ye Dam Seo in the quarterfinals. After stopping Kiran Singh in the opening round, Feng posted a unanimous decision win over Miki Motono to push her winning streak to eight and earn her place in this weekend’s finale.
Nyamjargal Tumendembrel vs Carlos Hernandez
Nyamjargal Tumendembrel makes his first trip into the Octagon this weekend in Macau, facing off with DWCS grad Carlos Hernandez.
Tumendembrel earned a pair of solid non-tournament victories last season, edging out fan favorite Topnoi Kiwram before quickly submitting Peter Danesoe to advance to 8-0 for his career. Hernandez returns looking to snap a two-fight slide after ending last year with a loss to contender Tatsuro Taira and beginning his 2024 campaign on the wrong side of the cards in a clash with Road to UFC Season 2 flyweight winner Rei Tsuruya at UFC 303.
Lone’er Kavanagh vs Jose Ochoa
Flyweight prospects with matching records meet in their joint UFC debuts on Saturday, as Lone’er Kavanagh and Jose Ochoa step in with one another.
Kavanagh kicked off Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series with a first-round knockout win over fellow standout prospect An Tuan Ho, while Ochoa was forced out of his scheduled bout against Jack Duffy. Talented, young fighters from quality camps, this should be an outstanding introduction to both men and a tremendous contest early in the card.
Xiao Long vs Quang Le
Xiao Long and Quang Le meet in this bantamweight matchup of UFC sophomores.
Xiao landed on the unhappy side of a split decision verdict in his bantamweight tournament finale bout with Chang Ho Lee earlier this year, snapping his four-fight winning streak. Quang turned in a quality effort on short notice in his promotional debut, pushing veteran Chris Gutierrez for 15 minutes in August.
Maheshate vs Nikolas Motta
Lightweights will open the show in Macau on Saturday, as Maheshate faces off with Nikolas Motta.
A member of the DWCS Class of ’21, Maheshate posted a first-round knockout win over Steve Garcia in his promotional debut and snapped a two-fight slide with a split decision win over “Moggly” Benitez in April. Motta graduated from the Contender Series a year prior to his opponent, and has gone 2-2 with one no contest in five UFC starts, most recently stopping Australian prospect Tom Nolan on the first fight card of the year.
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