Song Yadong returns to Chinese soil on Saturday to headline UFC Fight Night in Macau on May 30, and even if he may not have got the opponent of his choice, the former two-time flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo ensures there will be no shortage of competitiveness at the Galaxy Arena.It was in February earlier this year that Yadong had called out Mario Bautista for the Macau fight. But with Yadong still smarting from his loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 324 in January, Bautista declined, saying he had his sights set on Cory Sandhagen.Still, ranked No. 8 to Yadong’s six, he sees the bout against Figueiredo as another opportunity to strengthen his title credentials in front of a home crowd. According to the ‘Kung-Fu Kid’, two more wins could put him firmly in the title picture, while this fight is equally about protecting his current standing.“I just need to stay in the top five and keep winning. In the UFC, if someone pulls out, you can step up, you could find yourself in a title fight the very next month. But before any of that, I just need to keep winning and hold my spot,” Yadong told TimesofIndia.com ahead of the fight.With a professional record of 22-9-1 and an 11-4-1 run in the UFC, Yadong has been around for a long time. Yet, at just 28, he remains one of the more underrated fighters in the division, still waiting to firmly break into the title picture. He fought O’Malley earlier this year and came up short, denting his push towards title contention. Interestingly, Figueiredo was also on that card and suffered a defeat to Umar Nurmagomedov.That gives Saturday’s main event added significance in the bantamweight division, and Yadong is not underestimating the Brazilian despite his less-than-ideal transition to bantamweight.“He’s a very good fighter with a lot of experience, a former champion,” he said. “But I know what he’s going to do. Whether it’s grappling or striking, I’m totally prepared for everything he brings.”Figueiredo, 38, presents a different kind of challenge for Yadong. With a submission game that dwarfs most of his divisional peers, he remains a legitimate threat on the mat.“I know he’s going to try to take me down,” Yadong said. “But I’m a black belt too. I can handle it. I believe my jiu-jitsu is better than his. It’s going to be hard for him to take me down.”That evolution from being primarily a striker to becoming a more complete fighter is something Yadong has worked on extensively since before the O’Malley fight. Training under coach J-Flo in San Diego, he focused heavily on judo and other aspects of his ground game. Heading into this fight, though, his emphasis remains on sharpening his offence.“I really focused on my offense, especially my kicking,” Yadong said. “I’ve been training Muay Thai for many years. I want to use my kicks more in this fight.”Another aspect Yadong spoke about was patience, something he admits he learned the hard way after UFC 324. The defeat to O’Malley was as close as a decision could get: 29-28 on every scorecard, with nine of the 21 media scorecards favouring Yadong. It was not a loss that diminished him, but it was still a loss.“In that fight, I didn’t expect him to run for three rounds. He moved away the whole fight, and I wasn’t patient enough. I needed to be more patient and push my offense earlier. But I learned a lot from that fight,” he conceded.However, Yadong knows exactly what he wants after he is done with Figueiredo. If things go according to plan, he wants another crack at the division’s elite, perhaps even a rematch with Cory Sandhagen, who beat him in 2022.“If I win, maybe Umar [Nurmagomedov]. I haven’t fought him yet and he’s in the top five. Or Sandhagen. I know Merab is fighting for the title, so we’ll see how that plays out. But honestly, after this fight I’ll fight whoever the UFC gives me. I just want to stay active this year, it doesn’t matter who the opponent is,” said Yadong, who fought only once each in 2024 and 2025. The Figueiredo fight will be his second bout this year.Beyond the fight inside the Octagon, Yadong cannot ignore the significance of returning home. It was eight years ago that he announced himself on the UFC stage with a submission win over India’s Bharat Kandare in Shanghai in 2017. Returning to fight in China again, he says, is a ‘great feeling’.“It’s been eight years since I last fought in China. I’m so excited about this fight. Fighting in front of a Chinese crowd again is going to be something special. It’s a great feeling. It’s going to be a really great feeling.”And for someone who has carried the flag of Chinese MMA in the UFC for nearly a decade, does pressure become a talking point?“For me, I don’t feel any pressure. I’ve already headlined main events before, so I just treat this like any other fight, stay calm, stay focused. I’m good,” Yadong added.For a fighter who has openly spoken about his mission to become China’s first male UFC champion, a goal that sits alongside Zhang Weili’s success as part of a larger ambition for Chinese MMA, Saturday represents both a homecoming and an audition.Watch UFC Fight Night – Song vs. Figueiredo on 30th May 2026 from 4:30 PM IST via Live Streaming.
