Sean O’Malley Snaps Skid, Defeats Song Yadong by Decision at UFC 324

LAS VEGAS — Sean O’Malley didn’t hide the emotion when the final horn sounded Saturday night. For the first time in nearly 700 days, Sean O’Malley walked out of the cage with his hand raised, earning a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Song Yadong in the co-main event of UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena.

The three-round bantamweight bout was competitive throughout, but O’Malley (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) did enough in key moments to secure the judges’ nod and halt a frustrating stretch of inactivity and losses.

A Fight of Momentum Swings

The contest was razor-thin and appeared to hinge on the opening round. O’Malley’s movement, range control, and clean striking likely gave him the edge early, but Song (22-9-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) responded with urgency in Round 2.

Yadong pressured forward, landed heavy shots, and briefly looked like he was building momentum toward a potential upset. O’Malley absorbed the pressure, adjusted, and found his rhythm again in the final frame.

Round 3 saw “Suga” at his slickest snapping punches down the pipe, landing sharp counters, and mixing in his trademark footwork to keep Song guessing. By the end of the bout, Yadong was visibly marked up, blood pouring from his nose as O’Malley continued to pick his spots.

The fight largely stayed on the feet, with both men trading power shots amid long stretches of technical striking and calculated exchanges.