MMA Recap April-June #4 (UFC on ESPN: Song vs Simon)

The month of April in MMA may have started off with a bang in Miami. By the end of April it felt as though the product was beginning to drag ever so slightly. This fight card was not incredible but it certainly displayed a lot of fighters who are slowly establishing themselves at the highest level.

April 29, 2023

UFC Apex, Las Vegas, NV

FOTN- N/A

POTN- Rodolfo Viera, Song Yadong, Marcus McGhee, Caio Borralho

There were two fighters who made their UFC debuts on this card. Marcus McGhee and Trey Waters. As you see McGhee received a performance of the night bonus after accepting his debut fight on short notice against Journey Newson. And finishing him. Trey Waters may not have received a performance bonus, but my goodness was he impressive to watch. Waters made his debut against Josh Quinlan who was undefeated all by stoppage and Waters put on a master class of distance management and piecing things together over the course of three rounds. Fernando Padilla debut against the battle tested Julian Erosa and got him out of there in less than two minutes. Caio Borralho, someone who was initially denied a UFC contract on Dana Whites Contender Series remains perfect since joining the organization with wins over tough competition and earned a submission win against Michal Oleksiejczuk who is dangerous, would not be surprised to see Borralho matched up with ranked opposition in the future. The main event was a pivotal match up in the bantamweight division. Song Yadong is still so young and has been fighting the very best guys in the world since he was 19. This match up was interesting due to the fact that Ricky Simon has history with the head coach of Song Yadong, MMA legend Uriah Faber. Simon's first fight in the UFC was against Faber at the tail end of his career and he used Simon's own aggression against him early with a counter and jumped on him for a first-round finish. Song was so much more patient and found the finishing strike in the final round. Song called for a fight with Sean O' Malley or Chito Vera (rematch). The man fears nobody.