Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev will lock heads in the main event of the UFC Vegas 50 which will be taking place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In the co-main event, UFC have placed a blockbuster Bantamweight fight, where the veteran Marlon Moraes will be taking on Song Yadong.
Moraes is currently on a three-fight losing streak, having suffered consecutive technical knockout losses to Cory Sandhagen, Rob Font and Merab Dvalishvili in his most recent octagon appearances. Now, Moraes will seek to get back to his winning ways while facing one of the top prospects in the Bantamweight division.
Yadong currently sits at 7-1 in his UFC career with back-to-back wins over Julio Arce and Casey Kenney in his most recent appearances. The upcoming fight against Moraes will serve Yadong’s biggest test to date. The Chinese fighter trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, where he works under longtime coach Urijah Faber.
Marlon Moraes vs Song Yadong Stats
Marlon Moraes
Win/Losses: 23/9
Height/Reach: 5 ft 6 inches/ 67 inches
Stance: Orthodox
Song Yadong
Win/Losses: 18/5
Height/Reach: 5 ft 8 inches/ 67 inches
Stance: Orthodox
Marlon Moraes vs Song Yadong Fight Breakdown and Prediction
There are not many youngsters quite like Song Yadong. He is full of confidence and still only 24 years old with more room for improvement. He has always been an explosive striker and is becoming more and more refined at the Team Alpha Male.
Although Yadong might be tough, still he has to respect the weapons of Marlon Moraes. He is still one of the most dangerous strikers in the division. Moraes has lightening speed with minimal telegraph on his kicks and hooks.
Yadong will no doubt have a strategy of being patient for the first round but ready to uncork his monstrous hooks. Moraes needs to stick to his strengths and chop Yadong down with leg kicks, but if he is hesitant, Yadong will ruthlessly counter back the Brazilian fighter.