Song Yadong addressed reporters at the UFC 324 pre-fight press conference, laying out his strategy and motivation ahead of his bantamweight clash with former champion Sean O’Malley on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The contest serves as the co-main event on the first UFC card under the promotion’s new Paramount+ deal, a platform that promises expanded viewership for the Chinese contender’s biggest opportunity to date.
The Team Alpha Male product enters the matchup ranked fifth in the division following a technical decision victory over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo in February 2025. That win, though marred by an accidental eye poke that forced the stoppage after three rounds, pushed Song closer to title contention with judges scoring the bout 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27 in his favor. The 28-year-old from Harbin, China, holds a 22-8-1 record and has compiled an 11-3-1 mark inside the octagon since his 2017 debut.
Song Yadong on Sean O’Malley, Championship Dreams, and Representing China at UFC 324
“This fight is very important for me because everyone is watching the Paramount card,” Song said during the press conference. “I know beating Sean by decision is not enough. I want a highlight finish, something that people remember when they talk about this new era. I want to show the world my power, my skills, and that I can finish one of the biggest names in the division. If I can knock him out or submit him in a crazy way, that changes everything for my future.”
Song’s call for a definitive finish shows both the stakes of the bout and his recent performance pattern. The bantamweight has demonstrated finishing ability throughout his career, most notably with a first-round knockout of former World Series of Fighting champion Marlon Moraes in March 2022. That performance saw Song land a devastating uppercut that separated Moraes from his senses just 2:06 into the opening frame. More recently, he secured a fifth-round technical knockout over Ricky Simon in April 2023, dropping his opponent with a left hook before unleashing ground strikes that forced referee Herb Dean to intervene at 1:10 of the final round.
“I respect Sean a lot as a fighter,” Song continued. “He has very good timing, very good distance, very sharp striking, and he can finish people with one shot. But I also see his weaknesses. When he gets pressured, when the pace is high, when you make him work, he doesn’t like that. My plan is simple: stay smart in the beginning, then turn up the pressure, mix my boxing with my kicks and my wrestling, and make him uncomfortable everywhere. If I do that, I believe I will break him.”
The assessment targets known vulnerabilities in O’Malley’s game. The former champion, who holds an 18-3 record, has suffered consecutive losses to current bantamweight kingpin Merab Dvalishvili, first by unanimous decision at UFC 306 in September 2024, then by third-round submission at UFC 316 in June 2025. Both defeats showcased O’Malley’s struggles against high-pressure wrestlers who nullify his striking range and force extended grappling exchanges. Song trains extensively at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California, where he has developed his wrestling under the guidance of Urijah Faber and supplemented his grappling with work from judo specialist Justin Flores.
O’Malley, meanwhile, enters UFC 324 seeking his first victory since March 2024, when he defended the bantamweight title against Marlon Vera. The Montana native has expressed his belief that a strong performance against Song would position him for a rematch with current champion Petr Yan, against whom he holds a controversial split decision victory from UFC 280 in October 2022. That bout saw O’Malley awarded scores of 29-28 and 29-28 while Yan received one card of 28-29, sparking widespread debate in the MMA community about the decision.
The bantamweight title picture remains fluid following Petr Yan’s unanimous decision victory over Dvalishvili at UFC 323 in December 2025, which reclaimed the championship for the Russian fighter. With O’Malley and Song competing on the same UFC 324 card as fellow contender Umar Nurmagomedov, who faces Deiveson Figueiredo in a featured preliminary bout, the winner of Saturday’s co-main event positions himself as a leading candidate for the next title opportunity.
“There is always pressure in a big fight like this, but for me it is also a big opportunity,” Song stated. “I’m fighting a former champion, a very famous fighter, on a huge card. A win here can put me very close to a title shot. I fight for my family and I fight for China. I want more people in the world to see Chinese fighters as dangerous, technical, complete fighters. So I welcome the pressure; it pushes me to be my best.”
