‘Kung Fu Kid’s Career Evolves Further at UFC Fight Night Against Deiveson Figueiredo
The Chinese are a people of proud tradition, like others throughout the world, but traditions will be tested as one of their own faces as an outsider at the Galaxy Arena in Macao. These fighters are competing at the Men’s Bantamweight Division, where pound-for-pound strikes land some in the hospital. However, Song Yadong is one of China’s own and has been in past fights with fighters like Sean O'Malley. Alternatively, he is known as the ‘Kung Fu Kid’ and is only 28 years old. Meanwhile, his opponent is 38 years old and is none other than Deiveson Figueiredo, who goes by the nickname ‘Deus da Guerra’.
Figueiredo is the older of the two fighters, but he is a more experienced expert on ground submissions. He has submitted several opponents in his past, as well as made first-round finishes through those techniques. ‘Deus da Guerra’ has even landed KO/TKO strikes that have left him with first-round finishes. In short, Figueiredo is versatile and has gone the distance even in fights if the opponent made it past the first round. The reason for this is probably due to his defense while standing. He is cautious by not throwing out many strikes because ‘Deus da Guerra’ seems to favor ground finishes if the opportunity presents itself.
Yadong is the antithesis of most of the ground strategies taken by ‘Deus da Guerra’. He can remain standing throughout a fight while delivering more significant strikes by as much as 4.42 per min. This will be the statistic that will have his competitor on his toes. This is because more strikes landed in the rounds than those landed by his competitor, which means points go to him by the end of the bout. Then, if the fight reaches a decision, it will be him instead of his opponent who walks away with the win. If his opponent goes for a takedown to upset any momentum made by ‘Kung Fu Kid’, it will likely be wasted as he has 73% takedown defence on average.
The statistics together even agree that the fight will not go to the ground, and a win if gained by either fighter will be made by unanimous decision. Furthermore, that unanimous decision will go to the homegrown 28-year-old Chinese fighter, according to most statistical models. This is not hard to agree with, as when viewing the last fights between both fighters, he has won more than his opponent, and has gone all rounds with a unanimous decision win by the end of the fight. If his 38-year-old opponent wants to find a win from this encounter, he will have to betray his own past strategies while standing and adopt a position where he is landing more strikes than his opponent.
It is likely that the statistics ultimately are indisputable, and Yadong will walk away with a victory from this bout. He is more likely to land more strikes per minute, have defence for any takedown attempts, and will move faster than his opponent. This is seen by witnessing how he naturally moves faster when striking. This fight could go the other way, but it is unlikely, as Figueiredo only lands 2.63 strikes per minute. The best way to see who will move faster will be by streaming this heated round-for-round fight on Paramount+ by 7:00 a.m. EDT on May 30th!
