There is more at stake for Song Yadong this weekend than just making sure he shows his home fans when he takes on Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Macau.
Going into the bantamweight fight, which leads into Saturday’s showdown at the Galaxy Arena, the Chinese fighter needs a statement win to put himself in the conversation for who will challenge division champion Petr Yan of Russia.
Sean O’Malley’s controversial loss last time out at UFC 324 leaves Song (22-9-1, 1 no contest) with two losses in his past three fights to face the former flyweight champion in Figueiredo (25-6-1) with his title aspirations on the line.
Still, the 28-year-old fifth seed doesn’t think he needs to prove himself after a joint decision he firmly believes went wrong.
“I just need to win the next fight, the next fight, the next fight,” Song said. “I’m very close to these guys. I lost because of small points. One or two fights and I’ll get the title.
“Fighting or hitting I can absolutely beat this guy, I’m very confident. I’m going to show all the fans I’m still a competitor in my division.”
