Song Yadong meets Ricky Simon in the bantamweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The main card at the UFC Apex is on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET, preceded by prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 4 p.m.
Song (19-7-1, 1 NC) is coming off a fourth-round TKO loss to Cory Sandhagen in September, which ended a three-fight winning streak. The 25-year-old from China is No. 9 in the ESPN men’s bantamweight rankings.
Simon (20-3) has won five fights in a row, most recently a second-round submission of Jack Shore last July.
How to watch the fights
Watch all of the fights on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
Watch the prelims on ESPN2. Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN2 | TV schedule
Don’t have ESPN2? Get instant access.
There’s also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
Saturday’s UFC fight card
ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET
Men’s bantamweight: Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon
Middleweight: Caio Borralho vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Middleweight: Rodolfo Vieira vs. Cody Brundage
Men’s featherweight: Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
Heavyweight: Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Welterweight: Josh Quinlan vs. Ange Loosa
ESPN2/ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET
Heavyweight: Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
Men’s flyweight: Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
Women’s bantamweight: Stephanie Egger vs. Irina Alekseeva
Men’s bantamweight: Brian Kelleher vs. Journey Newson
Women’s bantamweight: Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
Ian Parker’s betting tip
Both men carry power in their strikes, a fast pace and cardio for days. With the betting line being so close — Simon is -115, Song -105 — I believe the difference maker here will be the constant pressure/wrestling of Simon. In Song’s two losses in the UFC, he was outgrappled by Kyler Phillips and Cory Sandhagen. And in this matchup, we can expect a grappling-heavy approach from Simon. Song is the more precise striker, with good counter combos. However, by the time he goes to counter, I think Simon will close the distance and take him down.
For Parker’s suggested bets on the main event and other fights on Saturday’s card, check out the ESPN+ expert picks and best bets article (link below). It also features analysis by fight analyst and former UFC welterweight Alan Jouban as well as ESPN’s other betting expert, Reed Kuhn.
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Expert picks and best bets: Can Ricky Simon extend his win streak against Song Yadong?