Song Yadong is fighting an opponent he knows rather well at UFC Macau this Saturday.
Yadong (22-9-1, 1NC) faces off against former flyweight champ Deiveson Figuiredo in the card’s main event, a fighter he’s previously trained alongside.
After walking past his opponent during media day on Wednesday, Yadong noted that “I felt nothing special, he’s more like my friend. Because about three or four months ago, we were together in the same fight camp for my last fight. When we did our face-off Tuesday, I felt we were like tourists to Macau.”
That said, Yadong went on to clarify that he still plans on finishing the fight. “He’s like my friend, he’s not really my friend. And this time he’s my opponent, and I will be 100% focused on finishing him.”
In his last fight, Figueiredo suffered a loss at the hands of Umar Nurmagomedov. Yadong, for his part, suggested that “for his last fight, I don’t think he [Figueiredo] was in very good shape because of weight cutting. And during the fight, he was too uptight. I think in the fight this week, he’s in much better shape, because he’s been in China before.”
If Figueiredo should miss weight ahead of UFC Macau? Yadong would welcome the extra money in terms of the ensuing fine, as long as the weight miss isn’t too much. Overall, he doesn’t seem worried about it.
Song Yadong is, if not worried, admittedly aware of the pressure on him fighting at home in China on Saturday, while looking to get back in the win column himself. That’s following a loss to Sean O’Malley earlier this year.
“This fight is a very important fight for me, and I watched my opponent’s fight with Petr Yan, and it was an exciting fight,” stated Yadong, no doubt wanting to avoid a second consecutive loss in the hot 135lb division. “But for me, every fight is a new fight: new opponent, new people, and a new arena. I’m confident I can win this fight, because I trust my skills on the feet and on the ground.”
Watch the full UFC Macau media day appearance by Song Yadong above.