Yadong Song walked into the cage with a nation on his shoulders and a sniper in front of him. He walked out having detonated one of the most shocking knockouts of the year.
In a night soaked in violence and upset, UFC Shanghai ended the only way it really could: with the arena shaking, the unbeaten aura of a rising contender shattered and a local hero standing over the wreckage.
Song Yadong Flattens Umar Nurmagomedov
For a round and a half, Umar Nurmagomedov looked like the man we’ve come to expect: measured, suffocating, in control.
He opened the main event with his usual economy. Leg kicks, long movement, then the inevitable level change. The first takedown came clean. From top, he slid into half guard, dropped short punches and elbows, and kept Song pinned long enough to bank the frame. Nothing spectacular, just the steady, grinding rhythm that has broken so many opponents.
Song escaped late, touched the body with a right hand, and offered a reminder that he wasn’t just here to defend. But on the cards, it was 10-9 Nurmagomedov and business as usual.
Then the fight turned on a collision.
Early in Round 2, Nurmagomedov chopped at the inside leg, flicked up a head kick and shot again. Song stuffed it. They reset, clashed heads and a nasty cut opened above Song’s right eyelid. Blood trickled, urgency spiked.
Nurmagomedov stepped in.
Song detonated.
A right uppercut ripped up and behind the ear, catching Nurmagomedov clean as he moved forward. The Russian’s legs vanished. He crashed to the canvas, already out, as Song swarmed with follow-up punches and hammerfists until Marc Goddard dived in.
1:48 of Round 2. The arena erupted. The undefeated UFC run gone in an instant, the hype train derailed by a ruthless counter and a hometown finisher who refused to be walked over.
On a card full of chaos, this was the exclamation mark.
Denise Gomes Silences Shanghai with Brutal Elbow KO
Just before the main event, the building belonged to Xiaonan Yan.
The former title challenger walked into the co-main event as the home favorite, the veteran, the one expected to steady the night for the Chinese contingent. Denise Gomes had other ideas and a right elbow that rewrote the script.
Yan started well enough, snapping in low kicks and stabbing side kicks to the body. Gomes switched stances, probed with inside leg kicks and then whipped up a head kick that forced Yan into retreat. The Brazilian chased with power punches, but Yan answered with counters, jabs and a heavy overhand right of her own.
The exchanges grew sharper. Yan’s side kicks and right hands began to find their mark. Gomes kept walking her down, landing overhand rights, jabs, forcing Yan into more and more pocket work. They clinched, traded short shots, both still very much in the fight.
Then Gomes split the night open.
In the center of the cage, she uncorked a crushing right elbow that smashed through Yan’s defenses. Yan crumpled to her knees, badly hurt, and Gomes poured on punches until Herb Dean stepped in at 4:49 of the first round.
The roar died in an instant. A pro-Yan crowd, moments earlier buzzing, fell into a stunned hush. Gomes stood in the silence, a statement win echoing louder than any cheer.
Asakura Drops Aori with Head Kick Flurry
Kai Asakura came to Shanghai with a reputation as a finisher. Qileng Aori came with the crowd.
The first round was cautious, almost tense. Aori took the center, Asakura circled, picked at the inside leg and dug a slick left hook to the body. They traded right hands in short bursts, Asakura’s leg kicks slowly adding up, Aori answering with a front kick to the midsection. An eye poke from Asakura briefly paused the action, but the frame ended in a clinch against the fence, Asakura just edging it with cleaner work.
Round 2 didn’t last long.
Aori opened with a front kick to the body. Asakura answered with a right to the body and an overhand left. Then came the moment: a head kick that staggered Aori and sent him reeling into a defensive shell. Asakura swarmed, driving him to the mat, unloading knees to the body and punches until Ribeiro stepped in at just 34 seconds of the round.
One clean sequence. One ruthless finish. Another home favorite crushed.
Mudaerji Outpoints Perez in Tactical Rematch
Not every fight on this card ended in chaos. Some were won in the margins.
In his rematch with Alex Perez, Su Mudaerji leaned on discipline and leg kicks to secure a unanimous decision in front of his home fans.
From the opening bell, Mudaerji attacked Perez’s lead leg and body with kicks, mixing in sharp jabs from his southpaw stance. An inside leg kick even dropped Perez in the first round, forcing the American to shoot for a takedown. Mudaerji threatened a guillotine, then neutralized Perez from his back, stalling the offense and taking the frame.
Perez adjusted in Round 2. He timed a takedown, dragged Mudaerji to the mat and kept him there in full guard and half guard, scoring with short punches, elbows and hammerfists. The crowd grew restless as the pace dipped, but the control was enough to level the fight.
The third belonged to the Tibetan.
Mudaerji went back to the jab, back to the inside leg kicks, and kept Perez at range. Every time Perez shot, Mudaerji stuffed it or used the fence to stay upright. Knees in the clinch, multi-punch combinations in open space, and constant denial of the wrestling attempts sealed it. On the cards, it was 29-28 across the board.
On a night where so many Chinese fighters were knocked cold, Mudaerji gave the crowd a measured, badly needed win.
Liu Levels Rodrigues with Thunderous Right Hook
Ce Liu didn’t just win. He announced himself.
The light heavyweight prospect chopped at Levi Rodrigues’ legs early, mixing in jabs to the body and punishing body kicks. Rodrigues fired back with power combinations, even pressed Liu to the fence for a spell, but every time he reset, Liu went back to the low kicks and straight shots.
Then Liu found his mark.
An overhand right sent Rodrigues to the floor. The Brazilian somehow scrambled back to his feet, clearly hurt, as Liu doubled up on the jab and hammered him with another right hand along the fence. Rodrigues swung back on instinct, but the tide had already turned.
Liu stepped in and uncorked a savage right hook that shut the lights off instantly, Rodrigues falling facedown at 4:26 of the first round. No count, no argument. Just a highlight-reel knockout in front of a roaring home crowd.
Hasan Breaks Rojas’ Unbeaten Record with Precision Power
Two undefeated flyweights walked into the main-card opener. Only one left perfect.
Bilal Hasan started like a man who’d been here before. He chopped at Nilson Rojas’ lead leg, snapped in a one-two, then whipped a head kick upstairs. A counter right hand rocked Rojas early, and a front kick to the body forced the Colombian backward, clutching his midsection.
Hasan followed him into the clinch, hit a takedown and punished him from top with accurate punches. Rojas’ nose began to leak, his face marked up as Hasan kneed him on the way back to his feet and kept the pressure on. Rojas did fire back late in the round, landing a clubbing right and a couple of jabs, but the damage was already clear.
Round 2 teased a momentum shift. Rojas sat Hasan down with a push kick to the chest and pressed forward with power shots to body and head. Just as it looked like he might be turning the fight, Hasan flipped the script.
A devastating right hand over the top crashed home. Rojas dropped, and Hasan sealed it with a standing-to-ground left before Ribeiro could step in at 2:28 of the second. Another unbeaten record gone, another finisher announced.
Lima Drags Batbayar into Deep Water, Then Drowns Him
Andre Lima fought like a man determined to make Namsrai Batbayar uncomfortable from the opening bell.
He took the center, hacked away at the legs, and forced the Mongolian prospect into constant retreat. A low blow from Batbayar briefly halted the action, but once they resumed, Lima’s pressure only intensified. Leg kicks, a punishing jab, brutal body kicks—Batbayar circled, shelled and struggled to get his offense going. The first round was all Lima.
Batbayar tried to change the story in Round 2. He opened with a hard body kick, crashed forward with an overhand right and flurries, and landed a left hook that finally drew some respect. Lima answered with low kicks, body kicks and a thudding one-two that snapped Batbayar’s head back. Again, he kept him backed up to the fence, chewing up the legs and midsection.
By the third, Batbayar almost certainly needed a finish. He came out with urgency—inside leg kicks, a right hand over the top, hooks from both sides. Lima stayed composed, kicked the body, jabbed, and then saw his opening.
Batbayar overextended on an overhand left and ended up out of position. Lima wrapped up a guillotine, pulled full guard, rolled into mount and tightened the squeeze. At 3:03 of the final round, Batbayar tapped, his six-fight winning streak snapped under Lima’s arms.
Tsuruya Mauls Borjas on the Mat
Rei Tsuruya wasted no time showing exactly what kind of fight he wanted.
He touched gloves with Kevin Borjas and immediately shot in, driving the Peruvian to the fence and planting him in half guard. From there, it was a systematic dismantling. Body shots, elbows, constant pressure. Every time Borjas tried to sit up at the base of the cage, Tsuruya dragged him back down and upped the volume.
The pattern repeated: takedown, control, ground-and-pound. With Borjas seated again, Tsuruya grapevined the legs, hammered away, then slipped behind him for another takedown. This time, he slid his arm under the chin, locked in the rear-naked choke and forced the tap at 4:14 of the first round.
Clinical, dominant, and ruthless.
Woodson Edges Jenkins in Tactical Split Decision
Sean Woodson and Jack Jenkins gave Shanghai something different: a technical, three-round chess match at featherweight.
From the start, Woodson’s 10-inch reach advantage was obvious. He stabbed at Jenkins with jabs, flicked kicks to the leg and body, and punished every entry with straight shots. A sharp one-two dropped Jenkins late in the first, sealing a 10-9 frame for the American despite Jenkins’ bursts of power punches and occasional pressure along the fence.
Jenkins changed the texture in Round 2. After being swept off his feet by a low kick, he found himself on his back with Woodson in side control and flirting with a brabo choke. Jenkins reversed, took the back, sank both hooks and hunted the neck. When the choke didn’t materialize, he settled into top position in half guard, peppering Woodson with punches and riding out the round on top.
The third was tight. Jenkins opened with combinations and low kicks, driving forward and landing a left hook. Woodson circled, answered with an overhand right, body shots and his jab. Jenkins chopped the lead leg, landed a slapping head kick and ripped a three-punch combo to body and head. He pushed Woodson into the fence repeatedly, shooting and re-shooting, while Woodson fired elbows and punches in the clinch.
Over three rounds, the margins were slim. The judges split it: 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 for Woodson. Jenkins thought he’d done enough; the scorecards said otherwise.
Nuzzi Stuns Xiao with One-Minute Barrage
Long Xiao tried to set an early tone with a flying knee to the chest. It barely fazed Francesco Nuzzi.
After a brief pause for an eye poke, the Italian bantamweight stepped in with an overhand left, then walked Xiao onto a storm. A flurry of punches sent Xiao to a knee, and Nuzzi didn’t let him off the hook—savage left hands rained down until Herb Dean jumped in at the one-minute mark of Round 1.
Xiao staggered around the cage, dazed, nearly wandering out altogether. Nuzzi had just announced his arrival with one of the cleanest blitz finishes of the night.
Santiago Bulldozes Lui with Second-Round KO
Lawrence Lui came in with the City Kickboxing stamp. Hector Santiago left him staring at the lights.
From the opening bell, Santiago marched forward, backing Lui to the fence with jabs and body shots. He hammered the midsection, mixed in hooks upstairs and made Lui pay every time he tried to trade. A thudding left hook to the body, heavy combinations, and a surgical straight right kept Lui on the defensive and left him swollen and cut under the right eye by the end of Round 1.
Round 2 was brief and brutal. Santiago greeted Lui with a one-two, then dialed in another multi-punch volley. A precise straight right sent Lui crashing to the canvas. Santiago followed with standing-to-ground rights on his prone opponent, forcing the stoppage at just 53 seconds of the frame.
Relentless pressure, ruthless finishing.
Polastri’s Head Kick Erases Xiong
Jingnan Xiong started fast in her strawweight clash with Julia Polastri—low kicks, body shots, spinning back kick to the midsection, busy combinations. Polastri answered in kind, stalking from the center, landing a heavy body kick and a multi-strike volley of her own.
Midway through the round, Polastri closed the distance, grabbed a collar tie and fired knees. Xiong let her hands drop as she threw, and that split second cost her everything.
Polastri whipped a brutal head kick up and over the guard. It landed flush. Xiong went out instantly, collapsing as if someone had flipped a switch. No follow-up needed. Officially, it was a knockout at 3:06 of the first, and one of the cleanest finishes of the card.
Nelson Outgrinds Ding in Wrestling Clinic
Cameron Nelson walked into hostile territory and leaned on fundamentals.
Meng Ding started well in their welterweight opener, switching stances, stabbing at the body with jabs and kicks, and landing a hard leg kick into a straight left. The crowd roared with every connection. Nelson stayed patient, circled, then changed levels and drove through a takedown into side control. From there, he unloaded short, heavy left hands and rode out the round on top. 10-9 Nelson, and the boos rained down.
Ding tried to reset in Round 2 with spinning attacks and jabs, but Nelson’s answer was the same: pressure, level change, takedown. He tripped Ding to the mat, passed to half guard, mixed in ground-and-pound and even flirted with an arm-triangle. When Ding briefly scrambled up, Nelson dumped him again, climbed to full mount and pounded away to seal another frame.
Knowing he likely needed a finish, Ding came alive in the third. He dug left hooks to the body, stuffed multiple takedown attempts, sprawled hard and punished Nelson in the clinch with knees and an elbow. His one-twos found their mark, and he outworked Nelson for most of the round. But in the final minute, Nelson finally dragged him down once more, settling into half guard and then side control to close.
Ding took the third on most cards, but the judges saw it 29-28 across the board for Nelson. Wrestling and control beat flashes of offense.
A Night That Belonged to the Finishers
From the opening bout to the final roar, UFC Shanghai belonged to those who seized their moments with conviction—Song’s uppercut, Gomes’ elbow, Asakura’s head kick, Liu’s right hook, Hasan’s counter, Lima’s choke, and a string of violent debuts and breakout performances.
Some careers took a leap forward. Others hit a brutal reset.
For Song Yadong, the question now isn’t whether he belongs among the elite at bantamweight. It’s how far this knockout, on this night, in this city, can carry him into the title conversation.
