After the madness leading up to UFC 279 last week, the last few days have been relatively quiet ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night. Headlined by Cory Sandhagen vs Song Yadong, the card is strong with a lot of quality pairings, but took a hit at the weigh-ins on Friday. One of the premier fights on the preliminary card, the contest between Sara McMann and Aspen Ladd has been canceled after Ladd missed weight by two pounds. Losing the only other matchup between ranked fighters certainly doesn’t help matters, but it will make the anticipation for the main event that much more intense.
Watch UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs Song Yadong
- When: Saturday, September 17, 2022
- Prelims Start Time: 4 p.m. EST / 1 p.m. PST
- Main Card Start Time: 7 p.m. EST / 4 p.m. PST
- Location: APEX Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada
- How to Watch: ESPN+
Without Ladd vs McMann, the women’s flyweight bout between Mariya Agapova and Gillian Robertson looks to take the mantle for the women’s fight to watch on Saturday. Close at the betting window, the Canadian Robertson is a slight favorite as both fighters look to rebound from a loss in their last appearances a submission fighter, Robertson will have to keep the fight inside, losing nearly six inches in the reach advantage to Agapova.
Cory Sandhagen vs Song Yadong Main Event Preview
In his last time out, “The Sandman” Sandhagen went the distance in the Fight of the Night with Petr Yan in an interim title match at UFC 267. Losing by unanimous decision, he now finds himself in a battle for his position nearly a year later. The fourth-ranked bantamweight fighter, falling to the tenth-ranked Yadong would surely interrupt his title aspirations and extend his two consecutive losses into a losing streak.
Striking will be the name of the game in Saturday’s main event as neither Sandhagen or Yadong are submission specialists. Thus, the battle looks to be busy and bloody, which should be very entertaining. At 5’11”, Sandhagen will have a three-inch height and reach advantage.
On the other side of the Octagon, Yadong enters the contest on a three-fight winning streak. In his last two appearances, he’s handled his business early, winning by KO/TKO in the first two rounds. A win on Saturday could do big things for Yadong’s career, taking down a top-five opponent. At +160 odds to win, he certainly has a chance. Adding a win over Sandhagen to go with his 2020 victory over Marlon “Chito” Vera would bolster his resume to a title opportunity in his near future for sure.
UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Yadong Fight Card and Odds
Main Card
- #4 Cory Sandhagen (-190) vs #10 Song Yadong (+160) – Bantamweight
- Chidi Njokuani (-125) vs Gregory Rodrigues (+105) – Middleweight
- Andre Fili (-130) vs Bill Algeo (+110) – Featherweight
- Joe Pyfer (-475) vs Alen Amedovski (+380) – Middleweight
- Tanner Boser (-170) vs Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira (+145) – Heavyweight
- Anthony Hernandez (-210) vs Marc-Andre Barriault (+180) – Middleweight
Preliminary Card
- Damon Jackson (+160) vs Pat Sabatini (-190) – Featherweight
- Trevin Giles (-210) vs Louis Cosce (+180) – Welterweight
- Denise Gomes (+175) vs Loma Lookboonmee (-205) – Women’s Strawweight
- Trey Ogden (+295) vs Daniel Zellhuber (-360) – Lightweight
- Mariya Agapova (+125) vs Gillian Robertson (-145) – Women’s Flyweight
- Tony Gravely (+140) vs Javid Basharat (-165) – Bantamweight
- Nikolas Motta (-190) vs Cameron VanCamp (+160) – Lightweight
