UFC Macau Best Bets and Fight Predictions for May 30

After a successful visit in November 2024 – which was their first in 10 years – the Octagon will land back in Macau, China, for UFC Macau on May 30.

The main event will feature a bantamweight battle between China’s Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo.

Yadong has won three of his last five fights; however, he enters this bout off a loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 324 in January. Figueiredo, meanwhile, is 4-3 since moving up to bantamweight. The former flyweight champion, however, has lost three of his last four, most recently falling to Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 324.

The co-main event will feature Zhang Mingyang taking on Alonzo Menifield in light heavyweight action. Mingyang most recently fought in August at UFC Shanghai, losing to Johnny Walker. That loss was Mingyang’s first in the UFC and snapped a 12-fight win streak. Menifield has won five of his last eight but was most recently knocked out by Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Qatar in November.

The UFC Macau main card will also feature Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tallison Teixeira, Kai Asakura vs. Cameron Smotherman, Jake Matthews vs. Carlston Harris, and Alex Perez vs. Su Mudaerji.

SONG YADONG VS DEIVESON FIGUEIREDO

If there’s one thing to appreciate about Song Yadong, it’s his striking. With his Sanda foundation, Yadong has developed strong kickboxing skills, and he will look to use those to try and pressure Figueiredo into a war. Yadong has some strength to his strikes and has the cardio for a war; however, Figueiredo’s counterstriking can still be dangerous if he’s not careful.

Figueiredo’s grappling can be a problem for Yadong if he’s not careful. He’ll have to make use of his takedown defense abilities (a 73% takedown defense rate, per UFC Stats) to avoid giving positioning and control, as well as submission opportunities, to Figueiredo. This should be a fight that lasts either way.

BET: Yadong vs. Figueiredo to go the distance (Caesars: +100)

ZHANG MINGYANG VS ALONZO MENIFIELD

August’s UFC Shanghai was supposed to be a coming-out party for Zhang Mingyang, who has proven himself to be a solid up-and-coming contender in the light heavyweight division. Mingyang, however, was finished solidly by Johnny Walker, halting Mingyang’s upward momentum. This fight gives Mingyang the chance to show he’s still got contender potential.

Mingyang is the master of the first-round finish. Simply put, if Alonzo Menifield can be defensive and wear Mingyang down over the first round, he’s in a much stronger position to win. At 38 years old, however, it’s hard to imagine Menifield going five full minutes without getting tagged. And it’s hard to imagine Mingyang dropping a pair of consecutive fights, especially if he slugs the way he wants to.

BET: Mingyang via KO/TKO in Round 1 (FanDuel: +160)

KAI ASAKURA VS CAMERON SMOTHERMAN

There were interesting options for a third best bet. As we’ve seen though, however, heavyweight fights can be volatile to pick, and some of the underdog plays on this card are a little harder to read. So, let’s talk about Kai Asakura.

Asakura came into the UFC as a highly promoted talent and former RIZIN champion; however, he hasn’t lived up to the billing thus far. A loss to Alexandre Pantoja in a title fight in your UFC debut? Acceptable. Losing (with all due respect to him) to 39-year-old Tim Elliott in a fight Asaukra was a heavy favorite? Yikes. Now, Asakura moves up to bantamweight, hoping to show that a less drastic weight cut will do wonders for him – and he needs to hope this.

Asakura has more experience and a stronger resume than his 12-6 opponent, Cameron Smotherman, who is 1-2 in the UFC. Asakura is the better all-around fighter, so the fight falls on him. The more he avoids a brawl and the better he is defensively, the stronger the chance he goes home with a win. A loss here, however, and it smells like the end of an insanely disappointing UFC run.

BET: Asakura to win via KO/TKO OR decision (FanDuel: -240)