UFC Fight Night 223: Song vs. Simón Odds, Schedule, Predictions

A lot of bantamweight momentum will be on the line when the cage door closes on Song Yadong and Ricky Simón for the main event of UFC Fight Night 223 at the UFC Apex on Saturday in Las Vegas.

The two were originally slated to be the co-main event a week ago at UFC Fight Night 222, but the organization decided to delay the fight one week when the original main event for this card—Renato Moicano vs. Arman Tsarukyan—was scrapped. The spotlight of being on the marquee adds to an already intriguing matchup.

Simón is on a roll with a five-fight winning streak but hasn't fought since July 2022 when he submitted Jack Shore in the second round. Song Yadong is coming off a loss to Cory Sandhagen, but that defeat has a fairly considerable asterisk beside it.

The fight was stopped due to a cut over Song's left eye. Sandhagen was likely winning, but it wasn't decisive.

Now he has an opportunity to get some of his own momentum going. It's a good main event on a card with a heavy international presence.

Here's a look at the whole card, with predictions for each fight and a closer look at the featured bouts.

Main Card (ESPN2 / ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Song Yadong +100 vs. Ricky Simón -120
• Caio Borralho -365 vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk +300
• Rodolfo Vieira -230 vs. Cody Brundage +195
• Julian Erosa -150 vs. Fernando Padilla +130
• Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta +150
• Josh Quinlan -175 vs. Trey Waters +150

Prelims (ESPN2 / ESPN+, 4:30 p.m. ET)

• Martin Buday -130 vs. Jake Collier +110
• Cody Durden +115 vs. Charles Johnson -135
• Stephanie Egger -305 Ivs. Irina Alekseeva +255
• Journey Newson -180 vs. Marcus McGhee +155
• Hailey Cowan +145 vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth -170

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook and accurate as of 10:45 p.m. ET on Friday, April 28.

Predicted winners in bold.

This main event has everything you'd want in a Fight Night closer.

Song is a potential rising star in the division despite the loss to Cory Sandhagen the last time out. He's only 25 years old, and he's already put on some strong performances. A loss to someone of Sandhagen's caliber only does so much to deflate that.

Simón isn't bad with his hands, but he's a little more well-rounded than Song. He showed off his submission skills with his win against Jack Shore last time out, but he's also comfortable in a nitty-gritty brawl.

If Simón can control the tempo of the fight and where it takes place with his wrestling, he'll likely grind his way to a decision win.

However, if Song is able to create some space and unleash some of his striking, he has power in his hands and his feet. Simón has been durable, with just one knockout loss to Urijah Faber at UFC Fight Night 155 in 2019.

This is going to be a back-and-forth affair. It's a toss-up, but Song's potential to show up as a much improved fighter gives him the edge.

Prediction: Song via decision

After a failed run at light heavyweight, Michał Oleksiejczuk has returned to 185 pounds to positive results thus far. The Polish slugger has finished Sam Alvey and Cody Brundage in the first round in back-to-back fights.

Of course, that's not exactly a huge accomplishment. Alvey is winless in his last nine fights, and Brundage is still a relative neophyte in the UFC. He is 2-2 in four appearances and will hope to break the even record on the main card before this fight.

Still, it's clear that Oleksiejczuk has some serious stopping power at the lighter weight. That makes him an interesting opponent for Caio Borralho.

Borralho is not the most exciting fighter in the world. He's a mauling wrestler who will relentlessly go for takedowns until he gets his way.

The only way to stop a fighter with that mindset is with power. If Oleksiejczuk can intercept one of his takedown attempts with a well-timed knee or an uppercut, then things could get interesting in a hurry.

On the flip side, if he doesn't find that one strike to change things, it could just be 15 minutes' worth of him fighting to stand up.

Prediction: Borralho via decision

The aforementioned Cody Brundage will attempt to get his UFC career going in the right direction with a win over grappling ace Rodolfo Vieira.

This is a bout between two fighters who showed promise before arriving in the UFC but haven't found a way to put it together in the Octagon. As previously noted, Brundage is 2-2 in his last four fights. Back-to-back first-round finishes lost some of their luster when he was on the receiving end of a first-round knockout from Michał Oleksiejczuk.

That's not likely to be an issue against Vieira. The Brazilian is a decorated jiu-jitsu practitioner with several world championships to his name. Seven of his eight MMA wins have unsurprisingly come by submission.

But those were mostly before he got to the UFC. He's dropped two of his last three fights, with a unanimous-decision loss to Chris Curtis last time he was in the cage.

Brundage has to keep this one on their feet at all costs. If he gets on the ground with Vieira, it will be the beginning of the end. If Brundage can make it a kickboxing match, he's going to win.

His takedown defense does not lend confidence to that proposition.

Prediction: Vieira via submission

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