After the fight night in Seattle, Yadong agreed to rematch Henry Cejudo after the controversial eye poke ending.
However, Yadong eyes a different wrestler, one that hails from the Dagestani mountains: Umar Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov is coming off the back of losing a title fight against Merab Dvalishvili by decision and we have to fight fellow top contenders to get another shot.
Yadong has gained his biggest career win and is ready to test his grappling against the bantamweight elite.
He told Home of Fight that: “Of course, he is [No. 3 in the UFC bantamweight rankings] right now. It’s going to be an exciting fight and I’m looking forward to showcasing my grappling because I am not trying to take people down to show my grappling, but I want fight with some best grappler in the world.”
The two were set to fight in January at UFC 311 when Umar’s bout against Dvalishvili was in question, however it never materialised.
However, now there is more of a chance for the two to step in the octagon together, it makes a lot more sense rankings-wise now with Yadong climbing the ranks and Nurmagomedov forced to fight down.
This fight seems much more likely to come together due to Dana White not being a fan of the Cejudo vs Yadong rematch.
In response to being asked if he wanted to see the rematch, White told reporters in the post-fight press conference: “Not at all. Not even a little bit. I just don’t want to see it again.”
Although on “Matchmaker Monday” I rematched Cejudo and Yadong, but if Dana White and the UFC are not interested in it, Nurmagomedov would be a very good test for Yadong to see if he is champion level.
It would also be a good test to see if Nurmagomedov can jump straight back after his first loss of his career.
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