Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight strikers Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong will square off this weekend (Sat., Jan. 24, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC 324. Petr Yan may have had one of the best performances of 2025 in his title-winning revenge over Merab Dvalishvili, but “Suga” won just as big […]
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight strikers Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong will square off this weekend (Sat., Jan. 24, 2026) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC 324.
Petr Yan may have had one of the best performances of 2025 in his title-winning revenge over Merab Dvalishvili, but “Suga” won just as big that evening at UFC 323. There was no hope of an O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili trilogy match, but O’Malley already holds a (controversial) win over “No Mercy!” If he rebounds here, Dana White and company would surely love to send O’Malley to the White House for another title shot.
On the flip side, Yadong is still chasing his first UFC title shot. He’s been highly ranked and in the mix for a while now, but he’s come up just short in a couple major opportunities. He’s looking to buck that trend here and score the biggest scalp of his career, which would put him in great position to fight for gold.
Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:
O’Malley vs. Yadong Betting Odds
- Sean O’Malley victory: -215
- Sean O’Malley via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
- Sean O’Malley via submission: TBD
- Sean O’Malley via decision: TBD
- Song Yadong victory: +164
- Song Yadong via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
- Song Yadong via submission: TBD
- Song Yadong via decision: TBD
- Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
How O’Malley Wins
There aren’t many strikers quite like “Suga” Sean. Not only is he long and rangy for the division, but he’s exceptionally quick and accurate. Better yet, O’Malley actually has a really great work rate and throws combinations, which is typically a struggle for lanky kickboxers.
O’Malley wins this fight at distance. In the pocket, Yadong is the more powerful hitter and unloads his combos with a bit more fluidity — pretty much nobody wants to plant their feet and trade with the Chinese slugger for good reason. A half-step further away, however, O’Malley is the quicker man with his stabbing jabs and front kicks, and he should be able to stick-and-move to good effect.
Historically, Yadong has struggled a bit to cut the cage. O’Malley can capitalize on that flaw with consistent movement, feints, and direction changes. The goal is to keep Yadong’s feet moving and never allow him to really sit on his powerful swings. If O’Malley is initiating with a long range poke then cutting away at an angle to make Yadong miss, he’ll create hard counter opportunities that will earn Yadong’s respect and keep himself ahead on the scorecards.
How Yadong Wins
At 28 years of age, Yadong already has a wealth of experience against elite Bantamweights and former champions. He’s a hard-nosed boxer who loves to exchange, but nobody wants to get cracked by perhaps the fastest hands in the division. As a result of opponents who avoid the boxing match, Yadong has been forced to develop his range tools like the jab and calf kick.
This bout is almost entirely a test of Yadong’s ability to cut the cage, stay on O’Malley, and extend exchanges. If Yadong is following O’Malley rather than stepping in front of him, he’s going to have a really rough time. Similarly, if he’s just firing wide overhands rather than building combinations, finding the O’Malley chin is unlikely.
Yadong wins this fight by trapping O’Malley against the fence. To do that, he has to use kicks and body punches to cut off O’Malley’s escape routes, forcing the taller man to stand his ground more often. That’s how Yadong finds the chin, and he should be looking to draw out jabs from a little too close for counter opportunities as well.
An interesting question mark ahead of this fight is Yadong’s recent focus on Judo and wrestling. Like Petr Yan before him, the occasional takedown mixed into the brawl could go a long way in throwing off O’Malley’s standup and creating better opportunities to land. Again, however, Yadong will have to tactically close distance before trying to wrestle.
O’Malley vs. Yadong Prediction
I just mentioned it, but I do see similarities in this matchup and O’Malley vs. Yan. Yadong is not a one-to-one replacement for Yan: his standup skill is much more boxing focused, whereas Yan is attacking smartly in every range, and Yan is the craftier wrestler. Still, Yadong has the significant advantages of raw speed and power over the current champion, and he’ll be attempting to employ a similar game plan of closing distance on the rangy O’Malley with a mix of combos, counters, and takedowns.
Will it work?
I think so. Like the original O’Malley vs. Yan fight, I’m expecting a competitive and bloody affair, but I do think Yadong has the quickness to find the mark. When that happens, O’Malley isn’t going to just shrug off Yadong power punches. He’ll feel those lands, which in turn will slow his feet a bit and allow the takedown to come more easily.
Prediction: Yadong via decision
Category: General Sports
