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Song Yadong’s victory in the main event of last weekend’s UFC card was enough to move him up one spot in the packed and busy bantamweight division. The 25-year-old bantamweight contender surpassed veteran Dominick Cruz in the latest official UFC rankings update, going up to seventh place in the 135-pound division.
The change is a small but positive one for Song, who returned to the win column last weekend with a win over Ricky Simon. Song faced Simon in the main event of the most recent UFC card from Las Vegas, Nevada. Their fight was first scheduled to take place at UFC’s April 22 card in the co-main event spot but was moved after a previously booked headliner was taken out of the lineup.
Main event win moves Song up, Dominick Cruz down
In what was almost exclusively a stand-up affair, Song had a dominant lead against Ricky Simon after the first four rounds of their headlining fight. Then, just a minute into the fifth and final round, Song floored Simon with a clean left hook. Ground and pound that followed forced a stoppage from referee Herb Dean and gave Song his first-ever main event UFC win.
Simon entered last weekend as the lower-ranked fighter in their bantamweight clash. Following his loss, he has held onto his #10 spot in the division, now three places below Song.
Upcoming moves to watch
This weekend’s UFC 288 pay-per-view event includes a handful of matches that are sure to cause changes in the UFC rankings. The card from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, is currently set to be headlined by bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and former champion Henry Cejudo.
In the co-main event of the card, fourth-ranted welterweight Belal Muhammad will meet fifth-place Gilbert Burns in a five-round bout.
Strawweight is expected to see a few moves after this Saturday. On the main card, #4 strawweight Jessica Andrade will go up against sixth-place contender Yan Xiaonan. And on the prelims, ninth-place strawweight Virna Jandiroba has the chance to leap up the standings when she meets #5 talent Marina Rodriguez.
Undefeated featherweight contender Movsar Evloev will try to climb from his 10th-place spot when he meets #11 Bryce Mitchell on the main card. And in the featured prelim, 14th place lightweight Drew Dober will go up against Matt Frevola, who could crash into the 155-pound rankings with a win.
UFC Rankings: Song’s rise, plus other small moves
- Men’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes.
- Men’s Flyweight: No changes.
- Men’s Bantamweight: Song Yadong moves up one spot to seventh place, overtaking Dominick Cruz.
- Men’s Featherweight: No changes.
- Lightweight: No changes.
- Welterweight: No changes.
- Middleweight: Chris Curtis is up to 14th, passing Andre Muniz.
- Light Heavyweight: No changes.
- Heavyweight: No changes.
- Women’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes.
- Strawweight: Luana Pinheiro has passed Angela Hill, being pushed up to 13th in the division.
- Flyweight: No changes.
- Bantamweight: No changes.
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