Apr 25, 2023

Song Yadong meets Ricky Simon in the bantamweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.

The main card at the UFC Apex is on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET, preceded by prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 4 p.m.

Song (19-7-1, 1 NC) is coming off a fourth-round TKO loss to Cory Sandhagen in September, which ended a three-fight winning streak. The 25-year-old from China is No. 9 in the ESPN men's bantamweight rankings.

Simon (20-3) has won five fights in a row, most recently a second-round submission of Jack Shore last July.

How to watch the fights

Watch all of the fights on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.

Watch the prelims on ESPN2. Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN2 | TV schedule

Don't have ESPN2? Get instant access.

There's also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.

Saturday's UFC fight card

ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET
Men's bantamweight: Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon
Middleweight: Caio Borralho vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Middleweight: Rodolfo Vieira vs. Cody Brundage
Men's featherweight: Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
Heavyweight: Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
Welterweight: Josh Quinlan vs. Ange Loosa
ESPN2/ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET
Heavyweight: Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
Men's flyweight: Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
Women's bantamweight: Stephanie Egger vs. Irina Alekseeva
Men's bantamweight: Journey Newson vs. Marcus McGhee
Women's bantamweight: Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth

Ian Parker's betting tip

Both men carry power in their strikes, a fast pace and cardio for days. With the betting line being so close -- Simon is -115, Song -105 -- I believe the difference maker here will be the constant pressure/wrestling of Simon. In Song's two losses in the UFC, he was outgrappled by Kyler Phillips and Cory Sandhagen. And in this matchup, we can expect a grappling-heavy approach from Simon. Song is the more precise striker, with good counter combos. However, by the time he goes to counter, I think Simon will close the distance and take him down.

For Parker's suggested bets on the main event and other fights on Saturday's card, check out the ESPN+ expert picks and best bets article (link below). It also features analysis by fight analyst and former UFC welterweight Alan Jouban as well as ESPN's other betting expert, Reed Kuhn.

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Expert picks and best bets: Can Ricky Simon extend his win streak against Song Yadong?