Henry Cejudo was defeated by Song Yadong as their fight ended in controversial fashion as the UFC legend put his octagon career on the line.
The iconic two-weight world champion is one of just four fighters in promotional history to hold belts in different divisions simultaneously. Joining him in the club are bonafide superstars Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes.
However, he shockingly retired in 2020 after defending his bantamweight belt, taking three years off before returning in 2023. Since then, he has lost to Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili, meaning Saturday night’s UFC Seattle main event took on extra significance.
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Henry Cejudo vs Song Yadong UFC Seattle result
From the opening bell, Henry Cejudo forced the issue against Song Yadong as he piled on pressure and worked on the front foot. ‘Triple C’ opted against having the famed captain Eric Albarracin in the corner, going for a new team instead who appeared to have a solid gameplan in the opening exchanges.
A Cejudo head kick allowed him to be caught by Song, but the key moment came when he landed a leg kick that seemed to leave his Chinese rival struggling. He continued the pressure on that leg, even leading into the second.
For an Olympic wrestling champion, the former champion is not necessarily known for his use of the takedown, and continued that form in the second round. He has always been comfortable on the feet, and showed that as he ended up in a striking exchange with his rival.
Both men landed big punches in the latter stages of round two, although it appeared to be Song who was outlanding his rival in both stanzas. The bigger damage and more accuracy was from the ex-champion, but it remained unclear who was scoring with the judges.
In the third, Cejudo landed with a left but appeared to be wearing the impressive counter punches of Song. By the end of the round, despite two temporary stoppages for a groin strike and an eye poke, the round was all going for Song.
The second infraction saw Cejudo insisting that he needed all five minutes of a break, after pleading in vain for his rival to have a point taken. Once the break was over, Song immediately laid on the pressure to look for a finish.
At the end of the third, Cejudo insisted that he couldn’t see any more after the eye poke, leading to referee Jason Herzog calling a stop to the fight and sending it to the scorecards. He and Song appeared to show respect after the fact as the scorecards were gathered and a decision made.
The scorecards were 29-28 across the board for Song Yadong, landing him the biggest victory of his career. Instantly after the fight, he insisted that the pair should ‘run it back’ for a rematch, despite Cejudo now being 0-3 in his octagon comeback.
UFC Seattle was night of knockouts with eight stoppages
Prior to Cejudo and Song’s showdown in the main event, it was an exciting night of action for the raucous Seattle crowd. Fans packed in early to catch the prelims, and were rewarded with seven stoppages on the prelim card, including two first round submissions and five knockouts.
The main card wasn’t quite as exciting, with the co-main event between Brendan Allen and Anthony Hernandez going the distance with ‘Fluffy’ winning by Unanimous Decision. However, the other two points decisions were exciting splits, with judges divided over who did the business.
And early in the night, fans were treated to a thrilling set of finishes including a rare submission defeat for Turkish Powerhouse Ibo Aslan. Perhaps the most exciting was hometown star Ricky Simon’s stunning knockout of Javid Basharat.
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