After emerging victorious in the main event of UFC Vegas 72, Song Yadong shared a list of potential opponents he would like to face, however, he seems uncertain whether his first choice is a viable option. The 25-year-old Chinese bantamweight fighter stopped Ricky Simon with a fifth-round TKO at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, and named Marlon Vera and Sean O’Malley as possible opponents for his next bout.

During the post-fight press conference, Song added Rob Font and Petr Yan to the list. However, he expressed concern regarding a potential fight against O’Malley, as he believes that fighters in the company may be trying to protect him by not allowing the match to take place. Even so, Song has his sights set on fighting top-five fighters in the bantamweight division before the end of the year.

When asked about his ideal timeframe for his return to the octagon, Song said he would be open to competing again in July or August, depending on how well his body recovers after his recent fight.

O’Malley has remained unbeaten in his past five fights, winning a split decision over Yan in his most recent bout, which took place in October 2022. Although Yan has had a less successful run recently, having lost four of his past five fights in the UFC, Vera has had a great run, having knocked out two former UFC champions, Dominick Cruz and Frankie Edgar, before losing a split decision to Cory Sandhagen in March 2021.

Font has also recently rebounded, having won his most recent fight by way of a first-round knockout against Adrian Yanez earlier this month, following his defeats to Aldo and Vera.

In conclusion, Song Yadong’s success at UFC Vegas 72 has made him quite ambitious, as he is determined to climb the rankings by fighting the division’s top five fighters within the year. Despite having a list of potential opponents in mind, he has expressed skepticism about being offered a fight against O’Malley.

Nevertheless, Song’s priority is to give his body enough time to recover before he returns to the octagon, which he hopes to do around July or August.