sent the crowd home happy with a second-round submission victory in
tonight’s main event of
UFC Fight 277 in Macau, China. Song tapped out former UFC
flyweight champ Deiveson
Figueiredo with a guillotine choke late in the second round of
their bantamweight clash.
Both men were very patient in the first round, and action was
sparse until Song (23-9-1, 1 NC; 12-4-1 UFC) threw two leg kicks
and a right hand. Figueiredo (25-7-1, 14-7-1 UFC) responded with a
hard right hook that was his best strike of the round. Song threw a
head kick and fell, and Figueiredo spent the remainder of the round
on top in his guard. In the second round, Song landed three right
hooks and then tripped Figueiredo after catching a kick. Figueiredo
got back to his feet, but his attempt to take Song down failed, and
Figueiredo ate a head kick for his efforts.
Late in the round, Figueiredo finally got Song down, and he was
immediately
trapped in a guillotine choke. Figueiredo tapped out within
seconds, and the crowd erupted in cheers for Song, who was the only
Chinese fighter to score a victory tonight. The official time of
the tap came at the 4:42 mark of Round 2, and Song is right back in
the bantamweight title hunt after his controversial loss to Sean
O’Malley in January. Figueiredo, meanwhile, has now lost four of
his past five.
Menifield blasts Zhang
The light heavyweight co-main event between Alonzo
Menifield (18-6-1, 11-6-1 UFC) and Mingyang
Zhang (19-8, 3-2 UFC) was expected to produce fireworks, and
the action-packed battle did not disappoint. Menifield struck first
with leg kicks that he used to set up three powerful hooks that
knocked Zhang off-balance momentarily. Zhang reversed a clinch
against the cage, and he repeatedly kneed Menifield in his
midsection. Menifield created space and teed off with looping hooks
that found their mark on Zhang’s face. When Zhang fired back with
an elbow to Menifield’s temple, he seemed to have the American
hurt, but Menifield impressively recovered within seconds and
resumed his striking pressure. He knocked Zhang down with a
hook-uppercut combo, and Zhang bravely got back to his feet.
Menifield closed in with more punches and dropped him with another
right-left combo that forced Zhang to turtle up on the ground.
Menifield landed a few more punches, and referee Marc Goddard
waved off the contest at the 4:15 mark of Round 1. This was a
crucial win for Menifield, whose 2025 campaign ended with a quick
knockout loss in November. He has won three of his past four
fights.
Related »
UFC Macau round-by-round scoring
Pavlovich KOs Teixeira in 39 seconds
The lone heavyweight bout on tonight’s card ended in just 39
seconds when former
Ultimate Fighting Championship title challenger Sergei
Pavlovich (21-3, 9-3 UFC) annihilated Tallison
Teixeira (9-2, 2-2 UFC). Pavlovich backed Teixeira up with two
right hooks and then dropped him with a third right hand that
landed behind Teixeira’s ear. As Teixeira tried to regain his
senses, Pavlovich
unloaded with left hands until Teixeira was unconscious.
Pavlovich has now won three straight fights, and this violent
finish should put him back among a short list of title contenders
once again.
Asakura decimates Smotherman
In his third octagon appearance, former Rizin champion Kai Asakura
(22-6, 1-2 UFC) at last picked up his first UFC victory, and he did
so in devastating fashion. Moving up to bantamweight, Asakura
brutally knocked out Cameron
Smotherman (12-7, 1-3 UFC) just 1:50 into the opening round.
Asakura landed leg kicks and two left hooks early in the fight, but
it was a lunging left-right combo that dropped Smotherman to a
knee. He stood up and retreated to the cage, where Asakura landed a
crushing left hook that shut Smotherman’s lights off and ended the
fight. After suffering submission losses in his first two UFC bouts
at flyweight, Asakura was likely facing a must-win situation
tonight, and he passed the test at bantamweight with flying
colors.
Matthews dominates Harris
Jake
Matthews (23-8, 16-8 UFC) battered Carlston
Harris (19-8, 4-4 UFC) for three rounds to take a dominant
unanimous decision win at welterweight. Both men landed looping
hooks in the opening minute and Matthews began to win each of the
boxing exchanges. He wobbled Harris multiple times with left and
right hooks, but Harris maintained his footing. With his nose
bloodied, Harris came up short with his punches while Matthews
cracked him over and over again with powerful hooks. Harris pulled
guard to begin the second round and Matthews punched from the top.
Harris fought off a shoulder choke and an arm-triangle choke, but
he was stuck on defense. Matthews attacked with a kimura in the
final 30 seconds but ran out of time. Matthews dropped Harris
face-first to the mat with a right hook early in the final round.
Harris narrowly recovered in time, and Matthews spent the round
punching from Harris’ half-guard. He mounted Harris with 40 seconds
to go but couldn’t secure a finish. Matthews won with scores of
30-25 and 30-27 twice.
Perez and Mudaerji ends in no contest
The main card opened with a flyweight bout between Alex Perez
(26-10, 1 NC; 8-6, 1 NC UFC) and Su Mudaerji
(19-7, 1 NC; 6-4, 1 NC UFC) that ended in a no contest. Perez
charged at Mudaerji with lead left hooks, and Mudaerji circled away
until he was able to establish his jab. He landed punches and body
kicks while Perez struggled to close the distance. Perez pulled
half-guard with a guillotine choke in the dying seconds, but it was
not successful. Mudaerji immediately dropped Perez with a one-two
to begin the second round, but he was unable to finish him. Back on
the feet, Perez was kicked in the groin, and he threw up in a
bucket after time was called. Perez could not continue, and the
bout was declared a no contest at the 1:45 mark of Round 2.
Dias punishes Lee
Capping off tonight’s prelims, Jose Felipe
Dias (18-5, 1-0) finished middleweight foe Yi Sak Lee
(8-2, 0-1 UFC) in the first round. Dias landed strong kicks to
Lee’s leg and body during the opening two minutes, and he dropped
him to a knee with a right hook. Lee recovered and landed a leg
kick, but Dias knocked him down with another right hand and
followed up with punches on the ground for a TKO stoppage at
the 3:40 mark of Round 1.
Souza edges Ding
Jose
Henrique Souza (9-1, 1-0 UFC) weathered an early onslaught of
leg kicks from fellow UFC newcomer Meng Ding
(35-10, 0-1 UFC) en route to a split decision victory at
welterweight. Souza cracked Ding with a right cross early on, but
Ding recovered quickly and he chopped away at both of Souza’s legs
with sweeping kicks. Souza pulled Ding’s head down into a powerful
knee strike in the second stanza, but the round was largely
controlled by Ding and his leg kicks until Souza rallied late with
flurries of punches. Souza opened cuts on Ding’s right temple and
below his left eye in the final round. He jabbed and circled while
Ding tried to cut off the cage with his leg kicks. One judge saw
the fight 29-28 for Ding, while the remaining two had it 30-27 and
29-28 for Souza.
Haddon pound out Aori
Cody
Haddon (9-1, 2-0 UFC) notched his second UFC win with a
dominant performance against China’s Qileng Aori
(26-13, 1 NC; 4-5, 1 NC UFC) in a bantamweight battle. Haddon
picked Aori up and slammed him down in the first minute before
working for a rear-naked choke from back control. Aori fought that
off, but Haddon punished him with punches and elbows to the side of
his head and knees to his ribs. Aori threatened with a guillotine
choke in the second round, and he finally established his boxing,
but Haddon tied him up in a clinch. Two knees to the liver folded
Aori, and
Haddon landed punches on the ground for a TKO victory at the
2:11 mark of Round 2.
Tsuruya neck cranks Gurule
In a bantamweight battle between two fighters who normally compete
at 125 pounds, Rei Tsuruya
(11-1, 2-1 UFC) easily dispatched of Luis Gurule
(11-4, 1-4 UFC), whose attempt to win two UFC fights in two weeks
was denied. Tsuruya hurt Gurule with a left hook one minute into
the fight and then spent most of the first round on Gurule’s back.
The Japanese standout eventually secured a tight neck crank and
Gurule was forced to submit at the 3:19 mark of the first
round.
Hill impresses agaisnt Xiong
Angela
Hill (19-16, 14-16 UFC) spoiled the UFC debut of former ONE
Championship 125-pound titleholder Jingnan
Xiong (19-3, 0-1 UFC) at strawweight. Hill had considerable
success in the first round with knees to Xiong’s liver during
clinches and she landed a jumping switch knee to Xiong’s face later
on. Hill landed punching combinations and more knees to the body in
the second round, and she held Xiong in a standing guillotine choke
during the final minute. She remained the aggressor in the third
round while Xiong struggled to land much in return. Hill wobbled
Xiong with a spinning back elbow and another flying switch knee
just before the end of the fight. All three judges scored the bout
30-27 in favor of Hill, who put forth one of the best performances
of her career.
Vera KOs Zhu
Making the most of a short-notice opportunity, Rodrigo
Vera (22-1-1, 1-0 UFC) excelled in his UFC debut and knocked
out Road to UFC Season 3 winner Kangjie Zhu
(21-5, 1 NC; 0-1 UFC) early in their featherweight bout. Following
boxing exchanges, Vera dropped Zhu with a left hook, and he
followed up with more punches on the ground