Song Yadong vs Marlon Vera preview

Song Yadong vs Marlon Vera preview: betting tips and prediction

Preview updated May 15th 2020.

The first fight on the main event of UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Harris is Song Yadong vs Marlon Vera. Let’s preview this fight, looking at the data and comparing these two to make a prediction.

Yadong vs Vera matchup

YADONG SONG “Kung Fu Monkey”

Let’s go through some potential advantages for Yadong.

Song Yadong is 22 years old. He will be five years younger than Vera when they fight. Age is always important for betting on MMA, but when both fighters are in their twenties it doesn’t have the same statistical significance as if they were over 30. Yadong also lands more strikes with a significant strike average of 3.54 which is just a bit higher than Vera’s of 3.43. If we keep focusing on the striking stats for a moment, it’s clear that Yadong gets hit less in his fights than Vera. He absorbs 2.74 strikes every minute while Vera’s average in the same category is 3.82. Finally, Song defends 62% of strikes thrown at him while Vera only defends 53%. Song is undefeated in the UFC.

“Kung Fu Monkey” can boast about his impressive 100% takedown accuracy. Certainly an advantage for Song. The fact that he’s been able to get his opponents down on every attempt is pretty impressive.

MARLON VERA “Chito”

Let’s go through some potential advantages for Vera.

Vera has a 8 cm reach advantage over Yadong which always comes in handy no matter who you’re fighting. Marlon also is a bit more accurate with his punches as he lands 47% of his strikes while Yadong only lands 38%. Striking accuracy can be a big advantage in a high-level technical fight, like this could turn out to be. Vera also fights in a switch stance, meaning he switches stances frequently. Since 2014 fighters fighting in switch stances have beaten orthodox fighters 57% of the time, which gives us some statistical significance on Vera, since Yadong fights orthodox. Vera has a bit more experience going for him and has had more UFC fights.

A chink in Song’s armour might be his takedown defence at 66%. He was taken down five times by Cody Stamann and Vera could need to exploit this potential weakness if he wants to beat Yadong convincingly.

Yadong vs Vera prediction

Vera is a tough competitor with more experience than Yadong, but Vera has that negative landed-absorbed ratio which just isn’t good when you’re fighting a young hungry prospect like Yadong. Song is also undefeated in the UFC and has consistently put out great performances in his fights. That gives him more momentum, which is why we’re going with him for our prediction.

Prediction: Song Yadong beats Marlon Vera.

Vera vs Yadong betting tips

Both guys are super tough and neither guy has been finished in the UFC. This fight is going the distance!

Betting tip: The fight goes the distance.