UFC Vegas 71 loses co-main event

A bantamweight clash between Song Yadong and Ricky Simon, which was scheduled to serve as the co-main event for this weekend’s UFC Vegas 71, has been moved back one week and is now expected to headline UFC Vegas 72 on April 29. News of the matchup’s move and elevation in status was announced by the UFC on Saturday. While the change means a new date for Song and Simon, the duo will still be competing at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

UFC originally planned to have a lightweight fight between Renato Moicano and Arman Tsarukyan in the main event spot of their late April card. But after Moicano recently withdrew from the lineup due to an injury, it looks as if neither fighter will make an appearance on that card at all.

Song attempts to come back from Sandhagen loss

Song will be fighting to return to the win column in his next fight. He last appeared in the main event spot of a September 2022 card, when an elbow from former interim title challenger Cory Sandhagen caused a fourth-round doctor stoppage.

The main event appearance last year came after a trio of wins for Song at bantamweight, including a first-round stoppage against veteran Marlon Moraes.

Song is entering this fight as the higher-ranked fighter, currently sitting eighth on UFC’s official list. Simon trails him by two spots at bantamweight.

Simon set for first UFC main event

The abrupt change to UFC’s plans for later this month has caused a first in Simon’s career. His upcoming bout will now be the first time he has ever fought in a five-round UFC main event.

Simon expressed enthusiasm for the change after it was announced Saturday. “Bantamweight is the best division right now,” he said via Twitter. “5 round, main event!”

The 30-year-old talent has attained eight wins through 10 appearances since joining the promotion in 2018. He is currently on a run of five consecutive victories, with three of them coming via stoppage.

Simon scored a big win in his last appearance, handing prospect Jack Shore his first loss in a second-round arm triangle choke submission.

While the bout will be Simon’s debut in the five-round UFC spotlight, he is no stranger to going into the deep waters of a fight. In 2017 before he joined the promotion, Simon went five rounds against Chico Camus to earn the LFA Bantamweight Championship. Half of his UFC fights have also gone the distance.

New UFC Vegas 71 line-up

With Song vs. Simon off the card, Brad Tavares vs. Bruno Silva serves as the new co-main event for UFC Vegas 71. Here’s the full line-up:

Sergei Pavlovich vs. Curtis Blaydes
Brad Tavares vs. Bruno Silva
Bobby Green vs. Jared Gordon
Iasmin Lucindo vs. Brogan Walker
Jeremiah Wells vs. Matt Semelsberger
Ricky Glenn vs. Christos Giagos
Rani Yahya vs. Montel Jackson
Karol Rosa vs. Norma Dumont
Mohammed Usman vs. Junior Tafa
Francis Marshall vs. William Gomis
Priscila Chachoeira vs. Karine Silva
Brady Hiestand vs. Danaa Batgerel

Current UFC Vegas 72 line-up

There wasn’t much time to find a replacement for the main event at UFC Vegas 72, as Moicano’s departure from the lineup was confirmed only last week. The fight was expected to be his first headlining appearance since making the move up from featherweight in 2019.

After the fight cancellation, Tsarukyan has been campaigning for a bout against Beneil Dariush. Similar to him, Dariush was recently taken out of a May 6 fight against former champion Charles Oliveira.

Last night, Tsarukyn tweeted that Dariush had accepted a fight with him, but that the promotion wasn’t able to put it together. “Hopefully we meet in the future,” he said.

UFC’s final card of the month is now 13 fights in total. In the co-main event, middleweight talent Caio Borralho will attempt to keep his UFC record flawless when he faces Michal Oleksiejczuk.

With the new main event in place, here’s how UFC Vegas 72 looks currently:

Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon
Caio Borralho vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Cody Brundage vs. Rodolfo Vieira
Emily Ducote vs. Polyana Viana
Natan Levy vs. Pete Rodriguez
Brian Kelleher vs. Journey Newson
Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
Josh Quinlan vs. Ange Loosa
Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
Stephanie Egger vs. Irina Alekseeva

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Jack Wannan

Jack Wannan is a reporter for Bloody Elbow. He joined the site in 2023 after previously writing for MMA-Prospects.com and Knockdown News. He is currently in the process of earning a bachelor's degree in journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University.