The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is making an unexpected stop at the UFC Apex in 2023. Given the circumstances, UFC Fight Night 233 offers a surprisingly strong main card on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Originally, this was slated as the company’s return to Shanghai. However, when those plans fell through, the lineup remained mostly the same. Yadong Song and Chris Gutierrez are still headlining the event in an intriguing bantamweight tilt.
The light heavyweight co-main event sees Anthony Smith pitted against Khalil Rountree. This late addition to the lineup was a welcome surprise. Also noteworthy is the return of top flyweight prospect Su Mudaerji. He’s facing off against Tim Elliott at 135 pounds, which is sure to be a compelling match.
Jun Yong Park’s significant opportunity against Andre Muniz in the middleweight category is also a highlight. Now, let’s dive into the UFC Fight Night “Song vs. Gutierrez” preview.
The Bantamweights category features Yadong Song (20-7-1, 9-2-1 UFC) against Chris Gutierrez (20-5-2, 8-2-1 UFC). The odds are in favor of Song (-380), with Gutierrez (+300). Song may be a bit disappointed that he won’t get to perform on home soil, but it’s still good to see him get a main event spot.
Song was somewhat overlooked when the UFC signed several Chinese prospects for a Shanghai card in 2017. However, he quickly made a name for himself with a first-round win over Bharat Khandare and has been climbing the ranks ever since. His debut in the US saw him obliterate Alejandro Perez with a brutal knockout.
Since then, it’s been a question of when, not if, Song can string together the wins to put him in title contention. After the Perez victory, Song was on the radar enough that opponents were able to maneuver around his strengths. Cody Stamann managed to outwrestle him enough to find a draw, and Kyler Phillips stuck to a range-heavy game plan that allowed him to eke out a decision.
Gutierrez steps up to challenge Song, earning a much-deserved main event spot after a slow climb up a deep bantamweight division. After dropping his UFC debut to Raoni Barcelos in 2019, it was easy to overlook “El Guapo,” even as he kept racking up wins. Gutierrez was highly successful, finding victories on the back of a neutralizing style that relied on leg kicks to chop down his opponents.
However, 2022 turned into a breakout campaign for Gutierrez. He finally learned how to weaponize his defensive skill and eye for range into some effective offense, blasting Batgerel Danaa and Frankie Edgar for some highlight-reel knockouts to end the year as a potential contender.
An April loss to Pedro Munhoz looks to have been a frustrating setback for Gutierrez. Munhoz found some early offensive success, and that seems to have been enough to put Gutierrez back into his shell. He coasted out the rest of the fight, then reverted back to his neutralizing ways in a win over Heili Alateng in October.
This looks like another opportunity for Song to prove that he has gotten past some of his previous issues. Once Song has his reads and starts moving forward, he should have the speed and explosiveness to land some big strikes that should win rounds, if not end the fight entirely. Given that both men are most comfortable on the counter, it might not be particularly pretty, but it is a well-matched fight. The pick is Song via decision.