Song Kenan

Overview

His UFC debut lasted 15 seconds. Song Kenan, "The Assassin," out of Beijing Black Tiger, knocked out Bobby Nash at 0:15 of round one in November 2017, and the rest of his run has been a long argument over whether that was the norm or the exception.

He's a welterweight with a 6-5 UFC record and a 22-9-0 professional record across all promotions. Half of his UFC wins ended inside the distance, the other half went to the scorecards, and he never won two in a row more than once. He's a streaky fighter, not a steady one, and he carries a loss into his next fight.

UFC Career

The start was fast. Song stopped Nash in 15 seconds, then finished Hector Aldana in round two at 4:45 in June 2018. Two fights, two knockouts.

Then came Alex Morono and a unanimous decision loss in November 2018. He rebounded with a decision win over Derrick Krantz and a first-round knockout of Callan Potter at 2:20. That is the only run in which he strung wins together.

A loss to Max Griffin by first-round TKO, also at 2:20, in March 2021 began a stretch of one win in his next four. Ian Machado Garry stopped him in round three at UFC 285. Rolando Bedoya fell to a decision in August 2023, but Kevin Jousset beat him by decision four months later, in a fight that took his name for the card.

A decision win over Ricky Glenn at UFC 305 followed. Then Muslim Salikhov knocked him out in round one at 3:49 in November 2024.

None of his six wins came against an opponent our model rates as elite.

Fighting Style

Song is a busy striker who lands more than most UFC fighters, but he also takes more in return. His accuracy and defense sit around the UFC average, so his volume comes with plenty of exchanges.

On the ground, he rarely shoots for takedowns and almost never hunts for submissions. He is very hard to take down, though, which keeps most of his fights standing.

His finishing pattern matches that profile. He has three UFC wins by KO/TKO, none by submission, and two of those stoppages came in round one. The other three wins went to decision.

The flip side is that three of his five UFC losses came by KO/TKO, and the other two went to decision.

Notable Wins

• Bobby Nash — KO/TKO, round 1 at 0:15, UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Gastelum (2017)
• Callan Potter — KO/TKO, round 1 at 2:20, UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. Hooker (2020)
• Hector Aldana — KO/TKO, round 2 at 4:45, UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards (2018)
• Ricky Glenn — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC 305 (2024)

Quick Facts

• Division: Welterweight
• UFC record: 6-5 (3 KO/TKO, 3 decisions)
• Professional record (all promotions): 22-9-0
• UFC debut: November 2017
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height and reach: 6'0", 71.5" reach
• Team: Beijing Black Tiger
• Born: Tangshan Shi, China