Ahead of UFC Shanghai, Umar Nurmagomedov’s victory looked almost inevitable against a 23-9 fighter in Song Yadong. The bantamweight entered the bout as a -600 favorite, with his only professional loss coming against Merab Dvalishvili last year. But what unfolded in China was nothing short of a massive shock. Yadong knocked ‘The Young Eagle’ out cold, leaving Team Khabib scrambling in disbelief.

From the opening round itself, Yadong made his intentions clear that he wasn’t going to hold back with the intensity behind his strikes. He swung with serious intent and found his mark with precision on several occasions. However, Umar Nurmagomedov eventually found his opening for a takedown and executed it perfectly. But the Chinese fighter quickly reversed the position and locked the Dagestani into a tight guillotine. ‘The Young Eagle’ managed to escape the submission attempt before the round came to an end.

Following a competitive opening round, Yadong found a devastating right shovel hook in the second round that landed flush on Nurmagomedov’s neck as he attempted a level change. The sheer force of the shot was enough to send the Dagestani crashing to the canvas. The 28-year-old immediately followed it up with two powerful hammerfists on his downed opponent, leaving Umar Nurmagomedov unconscious.

The Chinese fighter immediately celebrated his breakout moment in front of his home crowd. Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team, in complete panic now, rushed into the Octagon to tend to their fighter.

In the now-viral footage, seeing him knocked out, Umar’s brother, Usman Nurmagomedov, jumped straight into the Octagon, seemingly trying to help his brother up. Amid the chaos that followed the knockout, the PFL lightweight champion nearly threw a backward elbow at Song Yadong as he brushed past the officials and Yadong to tend to his unconscious brother.

Later, another clip emerged from Umar’s corner showing Khabib actually trying to restrain Usman from entering the cage. But the PFL champion couldn’t contain his emotions and rushed to attend to his brother, who was lying unconscious inside the Octagon. However, by doing so, Usman broke one of the strict rules of MMA 

The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts clearly state that a fighter’s corner cannot touch them following a knockout until a doctor has examined them. Usman rushed to his brother before any doctor could examine him, violating the rule. 

Following Team Khabib’s emotional reaction, a wave of criticism came their way, with the latest coming from their longtime arch-enemy, Dillon Danis. 

“Are we going to talk about how Usman tried to storm the cage and attack Yadong after he rendered his cousin unconscious?” Danis wrote on X. “Again, Dana White letting the Dagestanis do whatever they want. WTF.” 

As such, fans weren’t too happy about seeing members of Khabib’s team push officials aside to check on Umar Nurmagomedov while he was still lying unconscious on the canvas.

Fans call out Team Khabib over their reaction to Umar Nurmagomedov’s knockout loss at UFC Shanghai

One angry fan quickly chimed in, writing, “The f—k were Team Khabib doing moving Umar’s corpse like that so soon man, they shouldn’t have been allowed inside the cage before he was checked by a doctor, very strange.”

Following that, another fan also unleashed backlash at Team Khabib, writing, “Khabib screaming over the body of his unconscious brother omg the f—g scenes 😭😭😭😭 #UFCShanghai.” Another user also believed it was Khabib who was screaming at Umar after Song Yadong knocked him out, writing, “Nasty KO by Song. Khabib looks pis—d… not concerned for his fighter.”

Well, fans seemed to be confusing the situation a little. Footage that emerged after the fight clearly showed Khabib trying to stop Usman from entering the cage, but the PFL champion couldn’t contain himself and rushed toward his unconscious brother. Some fans appeared to recognize that distinction and instead scorched Usman Nurmagomedov for almost elbowing Yadong.

A fan wrote, “What the hell is Usman Nurmagomedov doing here? UFC shouldn’t offer this guy a contract after pulling this stunt. Tried to throw a backwards elbow at Song.”

Well, it’s not hard to imagine that the UFC won’t be happy after Usman Nurmagomedov appeared to push an official aside so he could attend to his knocked-out brother. But this isn’t the first time Team Khabib has faced backlash for their behavior.

Fans also held them accountable after Islam Makhachev’s teammates Magomed Zaynukov, better known as ‘Chanko,’ and Abu Bakr Nurmagomedov attacked Dillon Danis at UFC 322, which ended up erupting into a brawl.

Also, who can forget the infamous UFC 229 night when Khabib himself lost his cool and ended up attacking Conor McGregor’s corner? On both occasions, fans criticized the Dagestani fighters for letting their emotions get the better of them.

Amid the backlash, however, some fans appreciated Song Yadong for his brilliant performance.

A fan commented, “Song Yadong just one punch KO’d Umar Nurmagomedov in the second round. Biggest and best win of his career. WOW!”

The Chinese fighter has endured several tough moments throughout his career, but this time, he finally enjoyed his breakout moment by knocking out Umar Nurmagomedov, a victory that could potentially earn him a title shot.

That said, after UFC Shanghai delivered such a dramatic ending, Yadong has cemented his case for a shot at the belt. On the other side, Umar’s corner will need some serious regrouping after such a devastating loss before plotting his comeback.