Nurmagomedov Breaks Silence After Shanghai KO Loss

Umar Nurmagomedov has spoken out after Song Yadong knocked him cold in the second round at UFC Shanghai on Saturday.

The Dagestani bantamweight, who entered the main event on a two-fight win streak and hunting a second title shot, was finished for the first time in his professional career when Song landed a right hand that left him unconscious on the canvas. The knockout shook up the 135-pound rankings and pushed Nurmagomedov further from a rematch with champion Petr Yan or former titleholder Merab Dvalishvili, who meet in a trilogy bout at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 24.

Nurmagomedov Vows To Return After First Knockout Loss

Hours after the event, Nurmagomedov posted a brief statement on Instagram. "Everything is fine with me," he wrote in Russian, per MMA Fighting's translation. "Alhamdulillah. Thank you so much to everyone who writes. I will work on the mistakes. And I will be back."

The loss drops Nurmagomedov to 20-2 as a pro. His only other defeat came at UFC 311 in January, when Dvalishvili outworked him over five rounds to retain the belt. Nurmagomedov rebounded with wins over Deiveson Figueiredo and Mario Bautista, but Saturday's result leaves him in limbo at a weight class where he had been viewed as the next in line.

Song, meanwhile, trained with Gordon Ryan ahead of the fight to prepare for Nurmagomedov's wrestling and grappling, according to MMA Mania. The Chinese fighter was a heavy underdog but landed the finishing blow roughly seven minutes into the bout.

Nurmagomedov has not indicated when he plans to return to the cage.

Original reporting:

• mmafighting.com — Umar Nurmagomedov releases statement following devastating UFC Shanghai knockout loss | MMA Fighting
• mmamania.com — Nurmagomedov Breaks Silence After Brutal KO Loss At UFC Shanghai | MMA Mania