Song Yadong of China punches Cody Stamann of the U.S. in their bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC., U.S., December 7, 2019. /VCG Photo
During the main card of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night event in Washington DC on Saturday, Song Yadong (15-4-1) of China, No.13 of the men's bantamweight division, made a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28) with No.9 fighter Cody Stamman (18-2-1) of the U.S.
Song, whose nickname is "Kungfu Monkey," is currently China's highest ranked male fighter in the UFC, and this match was the first time for a Chinese man to against top-10 fighter in UFC history.
Song was relaxed since the bout began as the two didn't exactly punch each other in the first two minutes.
In 3:09, towards the end of Round 1, Song was taken down by the 30-year-old American, but he took the advantage later to make a guillotine.
When the two were standing, Song was given a foul for using a knee kick to Stamann's head when the latter had three limbs touching the canvas, leading to a loss of a point for Song.
Cody Stamann locks Song Yadong's leg in their bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC., U.S., December 7, 2019. /VCG Photo
The sudden accident didn't influence Song in the second round, where he bled Stamann's nose and put up a good defense against Stamann's takedowns.
But in the last round, Starmann dragged Song to the ground in the first minute to the end, and Song couldn't find a way to untangle although the two changed positions ceaselessly.
The 22-year-old Chinese was not happy with his performance, since for his first three fights in the octagon, he won two by knockouts. So, upon hearing about the draw result, he made an apologetic gesture to the audience.
After the match, many Chinese mixed martial arts (MMA) fans left messages on social media to encourage Song. "We believe in you for the next fight. Go to enforce your ground skill and you are a promising fighter," wrote a supporter.