UFC Shanghai, The Morning After: A Crack In The Dagestan Dominance

Song Yadong beat the odds in his UFC Shanghai main event battle versus Umar Nurmagomedov .

I'm not just talking about the betting odds , which pegged "The KungFu Kid" as somewhere between a 4-1 and 7-1 underdog depending on your site of choice. There was also historical precedent going against Yadong, who had faltered in his previous opportunities to step up against the highest echelon of contenders like Petr Yan , Sean O'Malley , and Cory Sandhagen .

Even larger than that trend is both the historic and contemporary dominance of the Nurmagomedov clan. Russian wrestling is currently the most dominant force in mixed martial arts (MMA), and that trajectory was paved by Khabib Nurmagomedov . His protege, Islam Makhachev , is the best pound-for-pound fighter alive right now, a double champion with defenses at both weight classes. Khabib's cousins, Umar and Usman, are not yet UFC champions, but they're winning all the time and showing world-class skill in the process. Last year, Umar Nurmagomedov came within a single round of dethroning Merab Dvalishvili , and he's already beaten two top contenders since then in his would-be rebound back to gold.

Outside of the Nurmagomedov inner circle itself, Russian wrestlers like Khamzat Chimaev and Movsar Evloev are the cream of the crop. The stats and trends are clear: we're in the midst of a dynasty of Russian wrestlers who can pin the best fighters on the planet a very high percentage of the time.

When one of them loses, it's a shock, and it's worth analyzing further.

Song Yadong's ability to strategize and adjust to his opponents has been a point of critique in the past, but he arrived in the Octagon well-prepared to challenge Nurmagomedov. At distance, Yadong was actively kicking and choosing smart targets that are difficult to counter with wrestling shots. Though kicking a wrestler always carries risk — and indeed, Nurmagomedov's sole takedown of the fight came from a caught calf kick — it's a necessary gamble. Umar, like Islam and Usman, is a great kicker himself. A fighter who just gives away the range battle without even trying to participate in fear of the takedown has conceded another realm of the fight to his opponent, making it even more difficult to build success.

The other immediately apparent adjustment from Yadong was to hammer the body. Several times in the opening round, Yadong flashed a jab and then stepped deep into his right hand aimed at the chest. He landed cleanly on several occasions, and the benefits are numerous. A straight punch to the body is nearly impossible to shoot through — that's how Nurmagomedov ended up getting knocked out in the end. Even if a fighter isn't counting on that perfect KO connection, however, we're talking about fighters who cut a lot of weight and maintain an exhaustive style.

Attacking their gas tank is always a good choice.

Finally, Yadong had a strategy for escaping from bottom position. Against a truly top-notch wrestler, the takedown is a matter of when, not if. Yadong has an incredibly athletic sprawl, but fighting in a kickboxing stance will naturally land you out of position and vulnerable to being grounded at some point regardless of one's strong hips.

When Nurmagomedov took down Yadong, he wasn't able to rest. He fought off a guillotine, then all of his considerable muscles were flexing merely to keep Yadong in guard. Yadong didn't hold his opponent to him in top position like Dricus du Plessis or accept bottom position a la Jack de la Maddalena . As soon as Nurmagomedov wasn't actively flexing him in place — which, again, is a drain on the gas tank — Yadong was entering on a deep half guard and using that position to create scrambles and stand.

When the two returned to their feet with a minute remaining in the first, both men were moving a little slower. Yadong was forced to expend energy himself to make Nurmagomedov work, but in the process, he had brought the fight back to his desired venue. As a result, Yadong could go back to targeting the body and calf, while Nurmagomedov was forced to find another takedown. His first attempt was met with a sprawl, and the second ran him directly into a fight-ending right hand.

For the first time, a member of the immediate Nurmagomedov family was knocked out cold, and it happened just two weeks after Makhachev was pushed to the brink by Ian Garry, who also emphasized attritional damage and smart scrambling in his bid to upset the champion.

Are we at the end of Russian wrestling dominance? Is everybody going to start knocking out Nurmagomedovs? Of course not. Yadong is a remarkable fighter in his own right with nearly unmatched physical gifts. That said, as we see more consistency in what works against the currently dominant style, there will be more upsets and trials for even the best fighters Dagestan has to offer.