UFC targets Marlon Moraes vs. Song Yadong for March 12 event
Marlon Moraes will attempt to snap his losing skid when he faces a rising contender.
Moraes meets Song Yadong on March 12 at UFC Fight Night, which doesn’t yet have a publicly known venue or location.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Yadong first reported the matchup on the UFC’s Migu channel.
Brazil’s Moraes (23-9-1 MMA, 5-5 UFC) is currently enduring a rough patch. After winning five of six, including wins over current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and former featherweight king Jose Aldo, former title challenger Moraes has dropped three straight stoppage losses to Cory Sandhagen, Rob Font and Merab Dvalishvili.
Meanwhile, Yadong (18-5-1 MMA, 7-1-1 UFC) rebounded from his first-career loss to Kyler Phillips at UFC 259 with back-to-back wins. The 24-year-old is coming off a second-round TKO of Julio Arce at UFC Fight Night 197 in November.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for March 12 includes:
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Thiago Santos
- Guido Cannetti vs. Kris Moutinho
- Javid Basharat vs. Trevin Jones
- Marlon Moraes vs. Song Yadong