UFC CEO Dana White gave a surprising answer to potentially running back the Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong UFC Seattle main event.
Former UFC two-division champion Henry Cejudo and surging bantamweight contender Song Yadong treated Climate Pledge Arena to quite the show; for as long as the fight lasted.
The UFC Seattle main event between Cejudo and Yadong didn’t disappoint after the entire prelims resulted in finishes. Cejudo and Yadong had their moments on the feet throughout the fight, and Cejudo got off to a quick start in Round 1 by utilizing pace and leg kicks.
But Yadong found his rhythm in Rounds 2 and 3 against Cejudo, stuffing his takedown attempts and landing some damaging shots with his striking. But at the end of Round 3, controversies ensued as Yadong landed an accidental groin strike and an eye poke that brought the fight to a screeching halt.
Cejudo needed all five minutes of his allowed break from the action after the eye poke. He pleaded with referee Jason Herzog to take a point away from Yadong to no avail.
Henry Cejudo’s blurred vision brought UFC Seattle to a controversial end
Cejudo told his team and the referee that he couldn’t see anymore out of his left eye and the fight was waved off. Because the fight went past Round 3, the bout went to the scorecards with Yadong getting the nod by technical decision.
After the anticlimactic end to UFC Seattle, Cejudo and Yadong called for an immediate rematch for unfinished business between them. But UFC CEO Dana White felt differently about running it back, despite the fight being an exciting affair in the eyes of many fans and pundits.
White responded to calls for Cejudo vs. Yadong 2 during the UFC Seattle post-fight press conference.
“Not at all, not even a little bit,” White said. “I just don’t want to see it again…you want to see it again? We should probably do it in a couple of months? No.”
Henry Cejudo remains winless since ending his multiple-year retirement
Cejudo moves to 0-3 since returning to the Octagon for his second UFC stint following his 2020 retirement. Before UFC Seattle, Cejudo suffered decision losses to Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili.
Meanwhile, Yadong returned to the win column after a unanimous decision loss to Petr Yan at UFC 299 last year. He’s defeated the likes of Marlon Moraes, Ricky Simon, and Chris Gutierrez during his UFC tenure.
Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event was the promotion’s return to Seattle for the first time since 2013. The first seven fights on the card finished inside the distance, including a wild knockout from Jean Silva to extend his exclusive streak.
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