The UFC returned to Las Vegas on Saturday for Fight Night 233, the promotion's final non-pay-per-view event of the calendar year.
Originally set to take place in Shanghai, which would have been a return to China for the first time since 2017, the card eventually moved to UFC Apex, their home base in Vegas, for reasons still unknown.
Despite the logistical conundrum, the event did not disappoint MMA fans, as there was plenty of action to unpack in the 11-fight card.
Song Yadong (27-7-1) took care of business against Chris Guttierez (20-6-2) in the card's main event bout. The Chinese bantamweight fighter dominated in just about all aspects of the matchup and picked up a unanimous decision (50-44, 50-45, 50-45) victory for his fifth win in his last six fights.
It didn't take long for Song to target his next opponent as he used his post-fight interview to call out former bantamweight champion Petr Yan (16-5-0).
Yan, despite losing three fights in a row (although two were by split decision), seemed unmoved by Song's challenge as he responded via X (formerly Twitter) by simply posting a yawning emoji.
Meanwhile, Khalil Rountree (14-5-0) continued his streak of lethal finishes when he picked up a TKO victory over Anthony Smith (37-19-0) 56 seconds into the third round of their co-main event bout.
"The War Horse" has now won a career-best five fights in a row, four of which he's ended before the final bell.
Like Song, Rountree followed up his victory by making an ambitious call out, amongst the light heavyweight ranks. He challenged newly minted champion Alex Pereira, and although it's unlikely he gets that matchup right away, he's carved out a path toward it becoming a reality.
Rountree is currently ranked 11th in the division, but after another convincing victory it seems like it'll be hard to keep him outside the top 10 in the eyes of most UFC fans.
The rest of the card:
- Nasrat Haqparast def. Jamie Mullarkey via TKO - 1:44 of round 1
- Tim Elliot def. Su Madaerji via technical submission - 4:02 of round 1
- Andre Muniz def. JunYong Park via split decision
- Kevin Jousset def. Song Kenan via unanimous decision
- HyunSung Park def. Shannon Ross via TKO - 3:59 of round 2
- Steve Garcia def. Melquizael Costa via TKO - 1:01 of round 2
- Luana Santos def. Stephanie Egger via unanimous decision
- Tatsuro Taira def. Carlos Hernandez via TKO - 0:55 of round 2
- Talita Alenca def. Rayanne Amanda via split decision
Up next
The UFC will stay in Vegas for its final event of 2023, as UFC 296 will take place at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 16.
It'll be headlined by two title fights. Welterweight champion Leon Edwards will take on Colby Covington, and flyweight belt-holder Alexandre Pantoja will face Brandon Royval.
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