Song Yadong got the victory he and his fans so desperately wanted in Macau on Saturday, submitting Deiveson Figueiredo in their bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night.

The Chinese fighter had come into the contest on the back of a difficult loss to Sean O’Malley, but put himself right back in the title conversation with an impressive performance against the former featherweight world champion.

After testing each other’s strengths and weaknesses in a cagey opening, Song really started to pull ahead, and as Figueiredo shot for a takedown after getting calf-kicked, Song worked his way into a guillotine choke and squeezed out the tap as the second round neared its end.

“I’m so proud of myself for getting the guillotine,” the 28-year-old, who is ranked fifth in the division, said. “I have done it before in sparring, but never in a fight.

“I didn’t expect him to tap so quick. I didn’t have full power, I gave it a little twist, he tapped and I won.”

Song’s triumph saved what had otherwise been a rather miserable night for the home crowd at Galaxy Arena, with a succession of local favourites coming off second best.