Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez to headline UFC Fight Night in Shanghai

The UFC is making a long-awaited return to China following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The promotion has scheduled a Fight Night event in Shanghai on Dec. 9. The headlining fight features a critical bantamweight matchup between China’s Song Yadong and Chris Gutierrez.

The news was initially shared by “MagicM_MMABets” on X and later confirmed by MMA Junkie.

Yadong (20-7-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) withdrew from a scheduled match against Rob Font in August at UFC 292, citing undisclosed reasons. The 25-year-old most recently fought in a five-round bout on April 29 at UFC Fight Night 223, emerging victorious with a knockout against Ricky Simon early in Round 5. Yadong has won four of his last five fights, scoring only one TKO loss due to a laceration against Cory Sandhagen.

Meanwhile, Gutierrez (20-4-2 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) secured a unanimous decision victory against Mongolia’s Alateng Heili at UFC Fight Night 230 in Las Vegas last month. This win marked his return to the victory column after a previous loss to Pedro Munhoz in April.

The current UFC Fight Night lineup on Dec. 9 features:

• Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez

• Andre Muniz vs. Jun Yong Park

• Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey

• Tatsuro Taira vs. Carlos Hernandez

• Brendson Ribeiro vs. Mingyang Zhang

• Allan Nascimento vs. Su Mudaerji

• Hyun Sung Park vs. Shannon Ross

• Chang Ho Lee vs. Long Xiao

• Jiniushiyue vs. Rei Tsuruya

• Kaiwen Li vs. Yizha

• Shin Haraguchi vs. Rong Zhu

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie