Song Yadong (; born December 2, 1997) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #8 in the UFC bantamweight rankings. Background Raised by a single mother, Song was sent to a Sanda martial arts school at the age of nine. Song eventually began training mixed martial arts at the age of 13, making his professional debut before his sixteenth birthday. Mixed martial arts career Ultimate Fighting Championship In November 2017, it was announced that Song Yadong would step in on short notice, to fight the first ever Indian-born fighter in the UFC and fellow debutante, Baharat Kandare at UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Gastelum in Shanghai, China. Song's UFC debut took place on the 25th November, 2017. Song landed fast counter punches, combinations and some heavy leg kicks, but at the end of the fourth minute, Song landed a right hand that knocked Khandare down, causing Khandare to reach for Song's legs to try and get a takedown; however, it was not a good attempt and Song was easily able to secure a front choke, giving Song his first UFC win and his third win by submission. In Song's second UFC fight, he faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and Muay Thai fighter, Felipe Arantes on June 23, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards in Singapore. After a strong first round, with Song landing quick counter punches and securing top control after catching an Arantes' kick, the second round saw much of the same, except Arantes shot for a double-leg which ultimately resulted in Song easily shucking it off with Arantes, again, landing on his back with Song attempting an arm-triangle choke. However, with exactly a minute left in the second round, Arantes was able to force a stand up and returned to his feet. With 10 seconds remaining in the round, Arantes was being pushed against the fence and what was looking like another round being won by Song; Song landed a hard elbow, which forced Arantes to crumple onto his knees that forced the referee to jump in and end the fight, declaring Song the victor by way of technical knockout at 4:59 of the second round. With this win, Song received the Performance of the Night bonus which earned him an extra $50,000 Song was expected to face Frankie Saenz