UFC 265 results: Song Yadong outstrikes Casey Kenney over three rounds to earn split decision win

Song Yadong outstruck Casey Kenney for the better part of all three rounds but he still had to sweat out a split decision win to kick off the UFC 265 main card.

While it appeared that Song had done enough with his counter striking attack where he was on target with far more shots landed, he ultimately had to wait until the third scorecard was read to celebrate his victory. The final scores were 29-28 and 30-27 for Song with judge Kerry Hatley giving Kenney the fight 29-28.

Still, Song will leave with a much deserved victory, which puts him back on track after suffering a loss in his previous outing.

“I was really excited,” Song said about the win. “The last time wasn’t the real me. This time I did much better. I know he has really good body kicks so I was giving him a taste of his own medicine.”

With Kenney constantly moving forward, Song was circling away and picking his shots to counter his aggressive opponent. While Kenney was throwing a lot of strikes, it was Song who was landing with more regularity throughout the opening round.

As much as Kenney was unleashing a variety of punches and kicks, Song was able to target more places on the body including several hard shots to the body. By midway through the second round, Kenney had a noticeable red welt forming on his ribs from the repeated shots landing from Song.

Kenney did manage to pop Song with a couple of quick left hands late in the second but the Team Alpha Male fighter recovered quickly as he reset and threw another combination to stay ahead in total strikes landed.

Offensively, Kenney remained in hot pursuit but his accuracy was struggling in the face of a strong counter striking game from Song round after round.

As time ticked away into the closing seconds, Song had landed more strikes than Kenney to both the head and and the body by a wide margin, which is ultimately what helped him secure the victory.

Still considered one of the best prospects at 135 pounds, Song returns to the win column after suffering his first loss in the UFC and now he’ll move forward with hopes of climbing up the rankings in the bantamweight division.