by AAA Sports
Friday, Aug 28, 2026
The Main Event:
The UFC returns to China this weekend with a stacked card on the table. Cousin of Khabib, Umar Nurmagomedov (Russia . 20-1) will fight fan favorite Song 'Kung Fu Kid' Yadong (China . 23-9-1). There's a ton on the line in this fight considering that these are two of the top fighters within the Bantamweight Division. A win here could definitely propel one of these fighters into the title shot conversation immediately.
Since the title fight loss back in January of 2025 to Merab Dvalishvili, Umar Nurmagomedov knew that he still had work to do before getting another one of those belt opportunities. He went on to beat Mario Bautista at the end of last year, and opened up 2026 with a win over Deiveson Figueiredo. He's one of the scariest wrestlers in the division and that could be a problem for his opponent this weekend.
Just like in the last fight night in China, Song Yadong takes center stage. He also took down Deiveson Figueiredo in his last might, making it a similar opponent for both of these fighters. Yadong has been taking on legend after legend, fighting Petr Yan (current champ), Henry Cejudo (former double champ) Sean O'Malley (former champ), and Deiveson Figueiredo (former two-time champ) over his L4 fights.
The o/u line in this Main Event is set to 4.5 round and likely will not change before the opening bell sounds. The OVER is heavily favored at around the -200 range, meaning a decision is likely. Both guys are capable on both the feet and on the ground, so that is probably the most likely outcome.
The Verdict -- Even fighting in enemy territory, Umar Nurmagomedov is a huge favorite tonight between the -580 to -650 range. With elite sambo wrestling skills, there's no question that he should control this fight. It's pretty much just a matter of how he wins. With this being a longer 5-round fight than the usual three, we're going to go with a bit of an underdog selection here and take Umar Nurmagomedov at +215 to Win by KO/TKO/DQ or Submission
The Co Main Event:
A highly anticipated women's bout will take place in the Co Main Event on Saturday. Another Chinese fighter in Yan Xiaonan (China . 19-5) will take on the much younger Denise 'Dee' Gomes (Brazil . 12-3). While this isn't quite as big a fight as the main event is, there's still plenty at stake for these two fighters.
Yan Xiaonan hasn't been at her best since getting that title shot against her fellow Chinese superstar Zhang Weili. She did split her two fights since, but it wasn't a great showing against Virna Jandiroba in her last bout. Although she is still considered at the top of her game, this should be another challenge for her against a rising talent in the sport.
The Brazilian will jump up in the rankings heavily with a win here tonight. Undefeated in the UFC with a perfect 4-0 record since joining, Denise Gomes is a knockout artist with seven of her 12 fights coming by KO. The good thing for Xiaonan is that she probably is going to want to keep this fight on the feet, unlike lots of opponents from Brazil who love taking it to the canvas.
Just like the main event, this fight is expected to finish via. decision. The total is set to 2.5 rounds at -290 towards the OVER. There is definitely the possibility of a KO finish though given that these two fighters have 15 KO wins between the two of them.
The UFC returns to China this weekend with a stacked card on the table. Cousin of Khabib, Umar Nurmagomedov (Russia . 20-1) will fight fan favorite Song 'Kung Fu Kid' Yadong (China . 23-9-1). There's a ton on the line in this fight considering that these are two of the top fighters within the Bantamweight Division. A win here could definitely propel one of these fighters into the title shot conversation immediately.
Since the title fight loss back in January of 2025 to Merab Dvalishvili, Umar Nurmagomedov knew that he still had work to do before getting another one of those belt opportunities. He went on to beat Mario Bautista at the end of last year, and opened up 2026 with a win over Deiveson Figueiredo. He's one of the scariest wrestlers in the division and that could be a problem for his opponent this weekend.
Just like in the last fight night in China, Song Yadong takes center stage. He also took down Deiveson Figueiredo in his last might, making it a similar opponent for both of these fighters. Yadong has been taking on legend after legend, fighting Petr Yan (current champ), Henry Cejudo (former double champ) Sean O'Malley (former champ), and Deiveson Figueiredo (former two-time champ) over his L4 fights.
The o/u line in this Main Event is set to 4.5 round and likely will not change before the opening bell sounds. The OVER is heavily favored at around the -200 range, meaning a decision is likely. Both guys are capable on both the feet and on the ground, so that is probably the most likely outcome.
The Verdict -- Even fighting in enemy territory, Umar Nurmagomedov is a huge favorite tonight between the -580 to -650 range. With elite sambo wrestling skills, there's no question that he should control this fight. It's pretty much just a matter of how he wins. With this being a longer 5-round fight than the usual three, we're going to go with a bit of an underdog selection here and take Umar Nurmagomedov at +215 to Win by KO/TKO/DQ or Submission
The Co Main Event:
A highly anticipated women's bout will take place in the Co Main Event on Saturday. Another Chinese fighter in Yan Xiaonan (China . 19-5) will take on the much younger Denise 'Dee' Gomes (Brazil . 12-3). While this isn't quite as big a fight as the main event is, there's still plenty at stake for these two fighters.
Yan Xiaonan hasn't been at her best since getting that title shot against her fellow Chinese superstar Zhang Weili. She did split her two fights since, but it wasn't a great showing against Virna Jandiroba in her last bout. Although she is still considered at the top of her game, this should be another challenge for her against a rising talent in the sport.
The Brazilian will jump up in the rankings heavily with a win here tonight. Undefeated in the UFC with a perfect 4-0 record since joining, Denise Gomes is a knockout artist with seven of her 12 fights coming by KO. The good thing for Xiaonan is that she probably is going to want to keep this fight on the feet, unlike lots of opponents from Brazil who love taking it to the canvas.
Just like the main event, this fight is expected to finish via. decision. The total is set to 2.5 rounds at -290 towards the OVER. There is definitely the possibility of a KO finish though given that these two fighters have 15 KO wins between the two of them.
The Verdict -- Going with another upset pick here, we are going to go with the younger Denise 'Dee' Gomes at +135. She's on the winning streak and has the intangibles to be a really strong fighter in this organization for years to come. Yan is 'falling off' a tad. Go with the Brazilian.
