UFC working on Marlon Vera vs. Song Yadong for May 16 event

Marlon Vera and Song Yadong are on a collision course.

The UFC is currently working on a fight between the two ranked bantamweights for the promotion’s May 16 event in Jacksonville, Fla. The event will be the third of three fights in a one-week for the promotion.

A person with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking, but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was the first to report the news.

The event takes place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The card is expected to air on ESPN and stream on ESPN+.

Vera (17-5-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC) rides a five-fight winning streak entering the fight. With as many finishes as fights during the streak, Vera finally earned himself a chance at a ranked opponent – the first for him since John Lineker in October 2017.

As for Yadong (15-4-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC), the Chinese fighter has not lost in eight in-cage appearances. After winning seven straight fights, Yadong fought to a draw against Cody Stamann at UFC on ESPN 7 in December.

With the addition, here’s the current UFC lineup for May 16:

Walt Harris vs. Alistair Overeem
Eryk Anders vs. Krzysztof Jotko
Anthony Hernandez vs. Kevin Holland
Marlon Vera vs. Song Yadong