Magic Moments From UFC Macau: Three Feelgood Wins From The Far East

It may have been a late night for UFC fans in the United States, but for us long-suffering followers of MMA here in Europe, Saturday morning’s UFC Macau event was sheer bliss.

With the country currently enjoying beautiful sunny weather (yes, really!), Saturday morning was spent with the windows thrown open, some coffee and toast, and a packed card of entertaining fights.

There was a host of big moments on the card, but here are my three magic moments from Macau:

Song Yadong saves the day for China

When Song Yadong made his walk to the Octagon for his main event bout with Deiveson Figueiredo, there was a real concern among the fans inside Galaxy Arena that they could go home without seeing a single Chinese victory.

Six Chinese fighters had already competed inside the Octagon at Galaxy Arena, and all six ended up on the losing end of their respective matchups, so when Song stepped into the cage, there was national pride on the line. You can’t host a UFC event and not have any of your fighters win a single fight, surely?

Thankfully, that thought didn’t last too long, as Song delivered a great performance to finish Figueiredo via guillotine choke submission late in the second round.

Song by submission was probably the longest-odds option in the “Method of Victory” market ahead of the night, given Figueiredo’s world-class ground skills. But as soon as the Brazilian shot for a takedown, Song snatched up his neck and forced the tap.

The guillotine is Team Alpha Male’s signature move, and Song has it down pat. And with a win like that, he could well find himself either in a title fight, or a title eliminator, next time we see him.

We finally got to see the real Kai Asakura

Put simply, Kai Asakura is a superstar in Japan. He was arguably RIZIN FF’s biggest star when he fought there and became their bantamweight champion. And his aggressive, crowd-pleasing fighting style meant that the anticipation was through the roof when Asakura joined the UFC.

Unfortunately, he opted to compete at flyweight – possibly lured by an immediate title shot on his debut – and things didn’t really work out. He was dominated, then submitted, by then-flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja, then confused, then submitted, by Tim Elliott.

Something needed to change, and thankfully Asakura made the right call. He moved back to bantamweight and returned to action in Macau with a crushing first-round knockout of Cameron Smotherman. He looked much more like the Asakura we knew from RIZIN, and based on his emotional reaction after his win, he really needed that victory.

Three defeats in a row in the UFC would have been nothing short of a disaster, and potentially the end of his chance on the world stage. But now, fighting at his optimal weight, Asakura has the chance to build. And in a 135-pound division that is full of killers, Asakura’s next fight is more than likely to be an absolute banger.

Rodrigo Vera’s wholesome moment

Aside from Song’s hometown victory, the biggest feelgood moment of the UFC Macau card came early on the prelims, as Peru’s Rodrigo Vera made his UFC debut against Chinese athlete Zhu Kangjie.

Vera had recently been rejected for the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, when coaches Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier selected other fighters ahead of him for their respective teams. But, rather than flying home, Vera stayed in Las Vegas and made full use of the UFC Performance Institute to continue his training and, crucially, stay ready for any opportunity that might crop up.

And when Ramon Taveras was forced off the Macau card, Vera got the call, and produced a brilliant performance to TKO Zhu and claim a potentially life-changing victory.

While those who got into The Ultimate Fighter house ahead of him are battling it out for a place on the roster, Vera is already established, with one fight, one win, and one $25,000 finish bonus to his name.

They say the best ability is availability, and that proved to be 100 percent true for Vera, who kept himself in the frame, and took his chance when it came.