Athletes
Song Kenan | The Stalwart
Veteran Welterweight Talks Competing At Home, Facing Sanda Legend On Saturday
Three of Song Kenan’s first four UFC appearances came in his home country of China, with the powerful welterweight racking up victories in two of those outings to begin his journey on the biggest stage in the sport. The last of those triumphs came in August 2019, when he out-worked Derrick Krantz to collect his fifth win in six fights and rebound from a decision loss to Alex Morono five months earlier in Singapore.
At the time, it probably felt like competing at home would be a somewhat regular occurrence, as the UFC had brought an event to China in three consecutive years. Instead, that victory over Krantz would be the last time the Octagon touched down in the China until this weekend, where Song returns to compete as one of the more experienced and respected Chinese athletes featured on the card.
“It feels great fighting in your home country,” began Song, who faces off with fellow veteran Muslim Salikhov on the main card of Saturday’s Fight Night event at Galaxy Arena in Macau, when asked about returning to compete in China for the first time in more than five years. “You have a lot of friends that can come to see you, even during the weight cut, to see how you feel.
“I’m super-motivated.”
Though he sat relaxed when outlining his level of excitement and motivation heading into the weekend, Song’s delivery and generally non-plussed demeanor match the no-nonsense approach he has always carried with him each time he has made the walk and crossed the threshold into the UFC cage.
Since his promotional debut in November 2017, seeing Song’s name on the fight card was a guarantee that someone was in for a tough fight, as the now 34-year-old welterweight stalwart quickly established himself as a hard out and game competitor inside the Octagon. After beginning his tenure with victories in four of his first five appearances, consistent success has been a little more difficult to come by for Song, though some of that is a reflection on the level of competition he’s faced.
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Being a durable, experienced hand and perpetual “rough night at the office” for the opposition landed Song in bouts with Max Griffin and Ian Machado Garry when each was making a push forward in the welterweight ranks, and while he was defeated by each, those wins didn’t come easily for either man. Last summer, he was positioned opposite Rolando Bedoya when the promotion returned to Singapore, and turned the tables on the intriguing neophyte that had impressed in a short-notice loss in his debut.
Less than four months later, Song served as a litmus test for French welterweight Kevin Jousset, pushing the City Kickboxing man to his limits while landing on the wrong side of the scorecards.
“That’s the fighter I am,” he said when asked about garnering a reputation a game opponent and consistently entertaining competitor. “I don’t pick opponents, I don’t care who I’m fighting or what the result is going to be; I’m just going to be performing my best.”
In mid-August of this year, the veteran from Tangshan was at his best in Perth, delivering his most complete performance in a number of years in a preliminary card victory over Ricky Glenn at UFC 305. Two of the three officials gave Song all three rounds, with one awarding him a 10-8 score in the final stanza, as he utilized his superior skills in the striking department to pick apart and batter his American counterpart to put himself back in the win column.
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“The last fight was a (reminder) of the older version of me, how exciting I am,” he said when asked about the effort, which pushed his record to 6-4 inside the Octagon and 22-8 overall. “It made me more prepared for this fight.”
Saturday’s matchup with Salikhov is huge opportunity for Song, both personally and professionally, as the 40-year-old Russian is both the most established competitor he’s faced during the course of his UFC career, and also an extremely popular fighter in China.
Long before he arrived in the Octagon, Salikhov was a superstar in Sanda, a full-contact combat sport featuring many of the same elements as mixed martial arts originally developed by the Chinese military. He became World Champion in 2005 and the first non-Chinese athlete to claim the “King of Sanda” title in 2006 before earning additional World Championship wins in 2007 and 2009.
“I felt super-excited when I heard the name because Muslim is big in Sanda in China; he’s famous-famous,” Song said with a smile, doubling up on the final word to drive home how well-known Salikhov is to the Chinese audience. “When I got the name, I was excited because I thought, ‘I can fight this legend in MMA!’
“It’s a dream come true.”
And Song is ready to take full advantage of this dream opportunity.
Though he’s one of the longest tenured Chinese fighters on the roster, the welterweight mainstay believes a victory over Salikhov can help push him further up the division ladder than he’s ever climbed before, and he takes motivation for aspiring to those greater heights from the collection of emerging talents from his homeland that fill out this weekend’s fight card in Macau.
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“Now MMA is way more developed and all the fighters are well-rounded, and as a pioneer, I think if I want to keep going, I have to be more open-minded and take some things from the new generation,” he offered with a smile. “I’ve been changing my training methods and training camps, so I believe there is still a lot of space for me to grow in the future.
“It will give me confidence to keep going up in the rankings if I can beat Muslim.”
UFC Fight Night: Yan vs Figueiredo took place live from Galaxy Arena in Macau, China on November 23, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!