UFC Macau results: Biggest winners, loser from 'Yan vs. Figueiredo'

Adam Guillen has been writing (and translating) for MMAmania.com since 2011, covering the latest UFC, Bellator, PFL and other mixed martial arts (MMA) news and latest happenings throughout the combat sports world.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) staged UFC Macau yesterday (Sat., Nov. 23, 2024) inside Galaxy Arena in Macau, SRA, China, featuring a Bantamweight banger of a fight that saw former division champion, Petr Yan, defeat ex-Flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, via unanimous decision (see it again here). In the co-main event, Yan Xiaonan bested Tabatha Ricci, also via unanimous decision.

Biggest Winner: Petr Yan

Yan further crowded the championship picture at 135 pounds after his exceptional performance and win over “Daico.” Yan dominated the exchanges on the feet with his precision and power, and even got the best of Figueiredo in the grappling department. It was enough to impress Merab Dvalishvili, who gladly accepted Yan’s challenge afterward and requested a proposed date of March 2025 at UFC 313. Whether or not the promotion makes this move. is another story. Nevertheless, Yan has another title fight in his future, but it remains to be seen if it’s before or after Umar Nurmagomedov.

Runner (s) Up: Gabriella Fernandes and Muslim Salikhov

Fernandes took all the smoke brought on by Cong in 1.5 rounds only to turn the tides with a huge left hand in round two that stunned her enough to give the Brazilian the opening to latch on to a suffocating submission (rear-naked choke) and force the stoppage. For “Gabi,” that is now two straight wins inside the Octagon after starting off her UFC career 0-2. This one, however, is huge because now that she’s halted Cong’s hype, some of that spotlight could go to her moving forward. As for Salikhov, the 40 year-old Russian bomber proved that he still has plenty left in the tank, securing his second straight win by absolutely obliterating Song Kenan with a $50,000-winning spinning wheel kick (see it again here). If you recall, that is Salikhov’s second knockout win in that manner, previously ending Andre Fialho’s night nearly two years ago the same way, which also won him “Performance of the Night.”

Biggest Loser: Wang Cong

Perhaps Cong was a bit too over confident coming into her fight against the aforementioned Gabriella Fernandes, and it cost her in a big way. The previously undefeated fighter did have several shining moments in the bout until she caught herself in the tight grips of Fernandes, who landed a huge strike that allowed her to go in an sink a rear-naked choke. That said, it’s not that Cong had a bad performance, she just didn’t finish the job, got caught and with the loss her momentum and hype slows down a bit. Since she has a win over current division queen, Valentina Shevchenko, many were hoping for a fight between the two sooner, rather than later. but that will no longer happen. Back to the drawing board she goes.

For complete UFC Macau results and play-by-play, click here.