On December 10, Beijing time, Song Yadong led the main event for the third time, after defeating Gutierez in five rounds, and in the post-match interview, he called out former division champion Peter Yan.
Just when everyone was wondering when Peter Yan would respond and whether they would have a chance to make an appointment, Dana White directly announced the match in yesterday's UFC 296 post-fight press conference.
It was announced that Song Yadong will fight Peter Yan at UFC 299 on March 10 next year.
The official announcement of the match also made fans feel like a stone fell to the ground, and everyone began to look forward to this fight.
Previously, we learned from Song Yadong's social media and various news at home and abroad that Song Yadong will face former champion Peter Yan in Shanghai on December 9.
However, Yan withdrew due to injury, and the battle was aborted before the official announcement, and later Song Yadong had no choice but to choose Gu Tierez as his opponent in order to play in Shanghai.
Speaking of the feud between the two, it actually dates back to 2019, when Peter Yan, who was in full swing, knocked out Song Yadong's master Fibo in the third round of legs.
Later, Song Yadong's teammate Cody Gabrandt met Yan backstage, and the two clashed, and the battle was written on the spot.
But then Song Yadong sent another message, saying that he also wanted to beat Peter Yan, and he would meet him soon, and his conversation with Fibo also circulated.
Fibo is very confident that Song Yadong will defeat Peter Yan, and after fighting Yan, he believes that he is much slower than Song Yadong, and his strength is not great, and the real danger is Yan's striking accuracy.
He just stayed in front of Peter Yan for too long in the match, and he should have hit the ground as much as possible and kept moving.
Fibo also encouraged Song Yadong, believing that he could easily defeat Peter Yan, and was ready to start training Song Yadong. It was also from this time that the story of Song Yadong and Peter Yan began.
Then Yan won the bantamweight championship, and Song Yadong naturally wanted to fight him even more.
Peter Yan, born in 1993, is 30 years old and currently has a 16-5 professional record. Yan defeated former featherweight champion legend Jose Aldo by TKO in 2020 to claim the bantamweight title, which was vacant at the time.
Later, after an accidental foul that knocked out the belt to Raheem Sterling, Yan defeated Sandhagen by unanimous decision in 2021 to claim the bantamweight interim belt.
However, he then lost by split decision against Raheem Sterling, who lost by split decision to reigning champions Honey, but both of these bouts were highly controversial and many thought Yan should have been the winner.
However, in his last outing, Yan lost by decision to Merab, who is currently ranked fifth in the bantamweight division.
Despite his back-to-back defeats, no one would underestimate his prowess, and Yan remains a strong contender for the title.
With four months to go until his match with Song Yadong, this match will be crucial for both of them, Yan needs to shake off the shadow of a losing streak, and Song Yadong will have to step past the former champion if he wants to go to the next level.
Some time ago, the UFC officially announced the championship fight between the current champion Honey and Marlon Vera, also on March 10 at 299, as we all know, this is actually Honey's revenge fight, Villa just lost to Sandhagen in March this year, and then only won against Munoz, it stands to reason that he is not eligible for the championship, and he can only cut the team because he has finished Honey in the first round before.
Then we can also boldly imagine that if Vera has a chance to win the belt, and Song Yadong also defeated Peter Yan, can he directly call the battle on the spot and book the championship in advance, after all, he won Villa before, and Vera has always been dissatisfied and angry.
Next, let's wait and see, and in the end, we will see who will die.