Ricky Simon vs. Yadong Song Shifted to UFC Fight Night 223 Main Event

A bantamweight clash pitting Ricky Simon against Yadong Song that was originally slated to be this Saturday’s co-headliner has been shifted one week later to serve as the UFC Fight Night 223 main event.

The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the change on Monday evening. UFC Fight Night 223 was initially supposed to feature a lightweight clash between Renato Carneiro and Arman Tsarukyan before “Moicano” was forced to withdraw from the card due to injury. Tsarukyan will be removed from the event rather than receiving a replacement opponent.

UFC Fight Night 222, which takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, will move forward with 12 fights, including the Sergei Pavlovich-Curtis Blaydes heavyweight headliner. Simon vs. Song will now be contested over five rounds at UFC Fight Night 223, which is also set for the UFC Apex.

Anchored at American Top Team Portland, Simon has been victorious in his last five Octagon appearances. Most recently, he scored a second-round submission triumph over Jack Shore at UFC on ABC 3 this past July. Simon is 8-2 in UFC competition, with victories against Raphael Assuncao, Ray Borg, Rani Yahya and Merab Dvalishvili also on his resume.

Song, meanwhile, had a three-bout winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he suffered a fourth-round doctor stoppage loss to Cory Sandhagen in the UFC Fight Night 210 main event on Sept. 17. “Kung Fu Kid” is 8-2-1 during his tenure with the promotion, with other notable wins against the likes of Marlon Moraes, Casey Kenney and Marlon Vera.

BREAKING: We have a bantamweight barn burner stepping into the main event spotlight next Saturday, April 29th! 🔥@SongYadongLFG and @RickySimonUFC go head-to-head for #UFCVegas72! pic.twitter.com/yY2VW4DMxP

— UFC (@ufc) April 18, 2023