Urijah Faber eyes Petr Yan rematch for Song Yadong after UFC Macau masterclass 

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber believes Song Yadong has inserted himself back into the championship picture following a spectacular bounce-back victory in the main event of UFC Macau.

Song submitted former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo via second-round guillotine choke to close out Saturday night’s card at the Galaxy Arena. For Faber—the longtime mentor of the Chinese contender—the performance proved that his pupil is ready for another crack at the division's elite.

“Arguably, we won the [Sean] O'Malley fight,” Faber told GMA News Online, referring to Song's tight decision loss at UFC 324 earlier this year. “It wasn't a blowout, but I thought we got the first two rounds and had a close third. So this just cements where we're at with his skill set and where he's at mentally. You know, O'Malley's a former champion.”

“The same with Petr Yan,” Faber continued. “We had an amazing fight against Petr Yan. If it weren't for maybe one takedown at the end of a round for 20 seconds, I think we could have gotten that fight as well.”

According to the 47-year-old MMA legend, a high-stakes rematch with Yan is exactly what Team Alpha Male is targeting.

“We'd love to get that Petr Yan fight. Petr is a guy that keeps getting better, but Song keeps getting better too. I think Song was the more dangerous fighter against Petr Yan, and that's not usually the case.”

“I'd love to see that again now with where Song is at in his career and his skill set," Faber added. "I fought Petr when I was 40 and he was 26. I'd like to see it now that he's the older guy and we've got the young blood ready to get in the [cage].”

Yan previously defeated Song via unanimous decision when they first locked horns at UFC 299 back in March 2024. Should the 28-year-old powerhouse get his rematch, Faber is confident the sequel will yield different results.

“Song's improving so quickly in all the different areas, but the biggest ones are his wrestling and jiu-jitsu. So when Petr gets scared of Song's stand-up again like he did last time, starts getting rocked, and tries to take it to the ground, he's going to get submitted, I think.”

—JKC, GMA News