If you were dedicated enough to set your alarm for the early hours of Saturday morning, you were fortunate enough to witness one of the most entertaining cards of what has been a fun year so far on the UFC calendar.
The fighters at Shanghai’s Golden Sports Center delivered some exceptional finishes, while the top of the card featured a pair of stunning upsets that will have title ramifications across two divisions.
Let’s figure out what comes next for the biggest winners from UFC Fight Night 286.
Song Yadong vs. Mario Bautista
Saturday’s main event was set up to be the final hurdle in Umar Nurmagomedov’s road back to bantamweight title contention, before Song Yadong (24-9-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC) threw a spanner in the works in the most spectacular way possible.
After knocking out Nurmagomedov to pick up the biggest win of his career, Yadong will naturally enter the title picture.
The presence of Sean O’Malley complicates matters, however. Given that Yadong lost to “Sugar” at UFC 324 last January, it’s unlikely that he’ll leapfrog the former champion when it comes to choosing who will face the winner of the upcoming title fight between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili.
O’Malley can afford to sit and wait for that fight to play out, leaving Yadong in need of another dance partner.
Enter Mario Bautista (18-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC), who outpointed Cory Sandhagen in an impressive showing at UFC 329 in July. While O’Malley faces the winner of Yan vs. Dvalishvili, likely in the first quarter of 2027, Yadong and Bautista can go head-to-head to determine who will be next in line.
Denise Gomes vs. Virna Jandiroba
Like Yadong, Denise Gomes (13-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) derailed what looked to be a straightforward road back to title contention for a former challenger when she flatlined Yan Xiaonan in Saturday’s co-main event.
After picking up the biggest win of her UFC tenure, the Brazilian is now riding a five-fight winning streak at 115 pounds.
Whether she gets a title shot off the back of this victory will depend on Zhang Weili’s plans. If the former strawweight champion plans on returning to the Octagon anytime soon, she will likely be granted an immediate shot at current titleholder Mackenzie Dern.
Should that happen, we may well see Gomes booked to fight her fellow Brazilian, Virna Jandiroba (23-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC), who was last seen in action when she outpointed Tabatha Ricci in April.
Kai Asakura vs. Marcus McGhee
The bantamweight division has a new star on its hands.
After a difficult introduction to life in the UFC, including two submission defeats in the flyweight division, Kai Asakura’s (23-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) move up to 135 pounds looks to have been a wise one.
Back-to-back knockout wins over Cameron Smotherman and Aoriqileng could see the former RIZIN champion’s name added to the mix when the latest UFC rankings are released later this week. A fun matchup against a fellow striker like Marcus McGhee (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) could also provide a pathway toward the top 10 for the Japanese star.
Bilal Hasan vs. Cody Durden
A quickfire knockout win (and some exquisite moonwalking) on Dana White’s Contender Series earlier this month earned Bilal Hasan (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) a UFC contract. He got straight to work on Saturday, picking up another KO victory over Nilson Rojas in the main card opener to move to 10-0.
With an exciting fighting style and a fun personality to match, it’s clear that “The Indoninja” promises to add plenty of excitement to the UFC’s flyweight division going forward.
He is just 25, however, so the matchmakers may be in no rush to throw him to the wolves just yet. We could see him lined up to face Cody Durden (18-11-1 MMA, 7-9-1 UFC), who has lost five of his last six fights and is likely hanging onto his job by a thread.
