Eight years. That’s how long Song Yadong waited to “fight in homeland”, and when it finally came, he made sure it happened in front of his own people at the UFC Fight Night in Macao. 

All 12,647 fans packed into the Galaxy Arena spent all morning losing their voices for the hometown fighters, and the main event paid it all off – but not before the card threw just about everything else at them first: a 39-second demolition, a hometown heartbreak, and a finish so brutal the referee had to wave it off as a no-contest.

Here’s all you need to know about the final day of the UFC Fight Night in Macao.

[See more: FIFA Museum opens in Hong Kong just in time for the World Cup]

Song Yadong submits Figueiredo in round 2

The crowd was always going to be loud for Song, and they got their money’s worth – just not as expected. The opening round was a chess match. Both men sat behind their guards, poking and prodding, trading the occasional jab and kick, feeling for the opening neither wanted to give. Song had a slip, Figueiredo stayed patient, and five minutes went by with the scorecards even.

The second round looked like more of the same– right up until Figueiredo blinked. One small mistake, one bad position, and Song pounced, wrapping him up and locking in a choke that the Brazilian fighter couldn’t escape. The tap came with about 20 seconds left on the clock, the finish officially logged at the 4:42 mark of round two.

Song’s words after the fight underscored the sweet taste of victory: it took him eight years to arrive at this moment, in his hometown, in front of this crowd. As for who’s next? He’s not picky – he said he’s ready for whoever the UFC puts in front of him.

Pavlovich needs 39 seconds. That’s it.

If you blinked during the heavyweight bout, you missed the whole thing. Sergei Pavlovich did what he does: he found the button early. A couple of quick one-two swings put Tallison Teixeira on the canvas, and that was the ballgame – a knockout in 39 seconds flat.

Then he grabbed the mic and aimed it straight at Dana White. Pavlovich wants the belt, and he wants the winner of the rumoured Alex Pereira–Khamzat Chimaev superfight to get there. “I work hard, I work every single day. I want the belt,” he said. Hard to argue with a man who just ended a fight before most of us finished our coffee.

Menifield silences the home crowd against Zhang

This was the one that hurt for the locals. Zhang Mingyang walked out to a wall of noise – the arena was his – and the chants kept rolling through the entire first round. For a while it looked even, both men trading on their feet.

But Alonzo Menifield kept finding the target. Hard, clean shots to Zhang’s face, somewhere in the range of 10 to 15 of them landing flush. Zhang scrambled to claw his way back into it, never quite found the handle, and Menifield closed the show with a knockout. The #15-ranked veteran spoiled the party and made his pitch on the way out: he wants a top-10 opponent next.

Asakura flatlines Smotherman in 100 seconds

More fireworks, more quick work. Kai Asakura had the whole building on its feet, and he gave them a reason – a knockout of Cameron Smotherman at the 1:40 mark of round one. No wasted motion, just a clean finish and a statement.

His callout had the energy to match: Asakura said he’ll fight “anyone, anywhere, as soon as possible.”

Matthews boxes his way past a stubborn Harris

The one fight that actually used all its rounds, and it was a good old-fashioned scrap. Jake Matthews turned it into a boxing match early – far more punches than kicks – and his hands were cleaner. He tagged Carlston Harris repeatedly in round one and had him scrambling, though Harris weathered it to the bell.

Round two slowed into a grappling exchange on the mat, fairly even between them. Then Matthews poured it on again early in the third, landing flush enough that Harris looked like he was nearly out on his feet. Somehow, Harris hung on and survived all three – credit to his durability – but there was no doubt about the result. Matthews took the unanimous decision on the strength of the cleaner, more frequent work.

Perez vs. Sumudaerji ends in the worst way: a no-contest

A genuinely fun fight cut short by bad luck. Sumudaerji had the crowd roaring – the home support was deafening – and the two put together a competitive, evenly matched opening round. Perez nearly stole it late, getting his arm cinched around Sumudaerji’s neck, but Sumudaerji hung tough, and the round shook out about even.

Early in the second, Sumudaerji cracked Perez with a strong punch and put him on the floor, the crowd up on their feet sensing a finish, but it fizzled, and both men reset back to standing. Then it all went sideways: an accidental low blow caught Perez, and he looked genuinely ill from the moment it landed. Unable to continue, the fight was waved off and ruled a no-contest due to the accidental foul. An underwhelming end to what was shaping up to be one of the night’s better scraps.

Cageside intel: strawweight champ Zhang Weili, flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko, and actor Daniel Wu were all in the building.

The prelims were a finish factory

If you slept through the start of UFC Fight Night in Macao, you missed a bloodbath. First-round finishes all around:

• Luis Felipe Dias announced himself with a knockout on his UFC debut, ending YiSak Lee’s night.
• Rodrigo Vera scored arguably the standout performance of the prelims, a knockout of Zhu Kangjie at 1:50, and plenty of observers walked away buzzing about his skill and sheer confidence.
• Jaqueline Amorim submitted Loma Lookboonmee in under five minutes.
• Rei Tsuruya, just 23 years old, locked up a submission over Luis Gurule and got his own share of “remember this name” mentions.
• Cody Haddon knocked out Aoriqileng.
• Angela Hill edged Xiong Jingnan by unanimous decision.
• José Souza took a unanimous decision over Ding Meng.

Vera was the name on everyone’s lips coming out of the undercard, with Tsuruya close behind. Two prospects worth circling.