Petr Yan got back to winning ways tonight at UFC 299 with a hard fought unanimous decision victory over Song Yadong.
Round One:
Hard leg kick from Yadong to start. Yan with a calf kick of his own but Yadong lands a nice counter-punch.
Yadong fakes on a takedown and Yan bites on that. Overhand for Yan. Leg kick from Yan and a left hook from Yadong.
Yadong misses on another hook. Body punch from Yan. He lands that again. Lots of fakes from Yadong. One-two thrown out by Yan. Yadong threatens with a punch.
Yan goes to the body again. Short flurry on the inside from Yadong. Jab for Yan. Calf kick from Yadong. Low kick for Yan, but Yadong returns fire with a series of punches.
Spinning kick attempted by Yadong. He lands a punch. jab for him. Double-jab and a right hand for Yadong.
Yadong able to land a takedown off a Yan strike. yan on his knees in the center of the Octagon and then scrambles. He almost manages to break free, but Yadong manages to stay clinched to his back. He lands a few punches and then Yan does get back up to striking range.
Missed punch from both men in close. Nice left hook from Yadong. Yadong fakes a takedown. Yan grabs a leg now and tries to kick his opponent’s other leg out but he stays upright as the round ends.
Round Two:
Body kick for Yadong. Yan looks to work to the body too. Yadong faking on a takedown again. Yadong gets into close range with punches and then clinches up against the cage.
Heavy right hook from Yadong as they break apart. Now an uppercut from Yadong. Nice left hand through the guard from Yan.
Left hand for Yadong. jab for Yan as Yadong tries to clinch up. Another jab for Yan. Overhand right lands for Yadong.
Another overhand from Yadong. Yadong ducks and gets around to his back and walks him over to the cage.
Yan able to fight his way out. Yan lands nicely. Some loose tape on Yan’s glove forces a very brief stoppage.
Back to it they go. Yan with a body punch. Now he pressures Yadong to the mat for a moment, but he’s quickly back up.
Yan looks for a punch and Yadong reaches for a single-leg and tries to bring him down. Good recovery from Yan to escape that and get right back to fighting.
Both exchange a punch. Now a very nice combination from Yan to the body and then head. Yadong pressing forward looking to get that back but not landing as cleanly, with some punches missing.
Yan lands a short combination nicely. Yadong with a good uppercut. Yan with nice head movement and now lands a body punch.
Yan looking good late in the round here as he successfully lands a takedown. He’s looking for ground and pound and leaves Yadong with a cut above his left eye from an elbow strike as the round ends.
Round Three:
Yan working off the jab early in the final round. Body kick for Yadong but then one in return right away from Yan.
Yan dives in on a takedown but there’s a quick scramble and they both get back up. Yan working an elbow. Yadong works the jab.
Spinning kick to the body lands for Yan. Jab for Yadong and then a spinning head kick attempt from Yan comes off the guard.
Yadong with a short flurry of hooks. Good right hand for Yadong. Yadong with a single-leg attempt, but Yan fends it off.
Yan with a body punch and tries to go into a takedown, but now it’s Yadong who shrugs him off.
Left hand for Yan. Now a punch to the body. Nice short left from Yan inside. Yadong with a single-leg and tries to drive into it, but Yan avoids it.
Uppercut for Yan and a jab. He misses on a spinning backfist. High body kick from Yan. Right and a left from Yadong.
One-two for Yan as Yadong lands a jab. Right hand for Yadong. And again. Jab for Yan. Body kick for Yadong. Sticking left hand for Yadong and then drives into the clinch against the cage. Yan reverses the clinch position. Now an important takedown from Yan.
Yan in Yadong’s guard now with the momentum of the fight in his favor. He passes to side control and lands an elbow. Yadong to his knees and Yan is trying to set up a d’arce choke, but the round comes to an end before he can commit to it.
Decision:
An exciting fight then, with Yadong having a good first round, but Yan started to really apply pressure and piece together combinations well from the second round onwards as well as working takedowns too and that leads the former champion to emerge victorious via unanimous decision (29-28 x3).
Excellent performance from Yan there to turn the fight around in the final two rounds against a tough opponent.
