Song Yadong Comments on Usman Nurmagomedov Incident

Song Yadong (24-9) has commented on the controversial aftermath of his upset knockout win over the No.2-ranked bantamweight, Umar Nurmagomedov (20-2), at the UFC Shanghai event on Saturday.

Yadong defied the odds to drop Nurmagomedov with a fight-finishing uppercut. In the scenes that followed, Umar’s brother — the PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (22-0) — leaped over the Octagon to check on him.

As Yadong celebrated, Usman pushed him with one hand before appearing to wind up for a spinning elbow, which he was later criticized for.

“Watching the slow motion, it looked like he was turning around to throw an elbow or something, but actually I understand because they are brothers,” Yadong said this week. “The internet said he wanted to maliciously attack me. He just thought I was going over to attack him. Because he went over to check on his brother, and suddenly someone runs over, like you’d definitely react that way.”

Yadong’s comments came after Usman implored critics to “calm down” and said that if he had wanted to hit the bantamweight contender, he would have.

Usman fought out his PFL contract on July 31 and recently rejected a $2 million offer to re-sign with the promotion, fueling speculation that he could go on to join the UFC.