UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez

LIVE UFC Fight Night: Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez

The UFC returns to the APEX facility in Las Vegas this weekend for the latest Fight Night event.

UFC Fight Night: Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez lacks in name value, but there are definitely some fun fights on tap here.

Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez.

While neither of these two men will claim a title shot outright with a win this weekend, this is still a key fight in the bantamweight division.

Right now, Song Yadong is the higher ranked fighter, and it’s for good reason. ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ sits at the No.7 spot and holds wins over the likes of Ricky Simon, Marlon Vera, and Marlon Moraes, with his only recent loss coming to Cory Sandhagen.

An explosive striker with excellent wrestling to fall back on, it’s hard to pinpoint any weaknesses for Song. Sure, he got outworked by Sandhagen, but ‘The Sandman’ is a remarkably dynamic striker who is difficult to handle for most.

Essentially, if Song isn’t at his best, he can be outworked, but these days, that’s largely rare.

Chris Gutierrez, on the other hand, hasn’t had the best 2023 overall. Considered a top prospect after he retired the legendary Frankie Edgar in 2022, he then fell to Pedro Munhoz in what could’ve been a breakout fight for him.

And after stuttering in his last bout against Alatengheili, this is his chance to rocket back up the list of contenders in what could be the UFC’s most talent-packed division overall.

While both of these fighters stand at 5’8” and possess an identical reach of 67”, Gutierrez tends to fight at the greater distance. This means that to win, Song will need to get inside him to work that sharp boxing game. It isn’t a safe scenario by any means, but if he can pull it off, the fight should be his.

Where the X-factor could be, though, is on the ground. Gutierrez is the lesser wrestler and doesn’t tend to go to the ground often, but he is a dangerous grappler and his length could give Song problems on the mat.

Overall, this is a very tricky fight to pick. Gutierrez’s style is somewhat similar to Vera’s, and it’s arguable that Song should’ve lost that fight on the scorecards.

Over five rounds, however, Song has slightly more experience, and more importantly, he’s headlined a show before, something Gutierrez has yet to experience.

Sure, it’s only an APEX show with a smaller crowd, but we just don’t know how Gutierrez will react under the brightest lights. This one could go either way, but the pick is Song via tight decision.

This light heavyweight bout should be a lot of fun to watch. Both Anthony Smith and Khalil Rountree Jr are limited fighters if we’re frank, but they’re also highly dangerous and are both wildly aggressive.

So which one of these ranked fighters will pick up what would be a key win this weekend?

Of the two, Rountree has actually been on the better run. Always seen as a very dangerous striker with weak points in durability, on the ground and in the clinch, ‘The War Horse’ has won his last four bouts, three by KO.

Interestingly, though, it was his split decision win over Dustin Jacoby that might’ve been his most impressive win. Faced with a skilled kickboxer, Rountree showed more poise, patience, and toughness than he usually does to gut out a victory.

Smith, on the other hand, is largely past his best at this stage, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less dangerous. A brutal finisher both standing and on the ground, ‘Lionheart’ possesses incredible durability, although he can be stopped, as both Glover Teixeira and Magomed Ankalaev showed.

Basically, this one should come down to whether Rountree can take out Smith in a wild, early rush before ‘Lionheart’ settles into a groove. Smith probably can’t afford to strike with Rountree, but if he can get inside ‘The War Horse’, wear him out in the clinch, and drag him down, then it’s a winnable fight.

The issue, though, will be getting inside. Rountree has improved hugely in recent years, and while he was once a berserker, he now possesses some decent movement that could well frustrate Smith.

If Smith were in his prime, he’d be the easy pick here. It’d be easy to imagine him weathering an early storm before taking Rountree down to dispatch him.

However, ‘Lionheart’ is no longer as durable as he once was, and even with his range, he might find it hard to close Rountree down. Given the brutal power of ‘The War Horse’, that’s a very dangerous prospect for him.

This one should be a difficult fight to call, but the pick is Rountree, probably by first round stoppage.