Feb 22, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Song Yadong (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Henry Cejudo (red gloves) in the bantamweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Bantamweight Song Yadong won a technical decision over former UFC two-division champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 313 on Saturday night in Seattle.
Yadong (22-8-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC) poked Cejudo (16-5, 10-5) in the left eye accidentally near the end of Round 3 of the scheduled five-round main event, primarily a striking battle. After Cejudo used his allotted five minutes of recovery time, he finished the round without issue.
Between rounds, Cejudo expressed to his corner his inability to see. Given where the fight was, Round 4 briefly began before referee Jason Herzog halted the action.
Yadong was ahead on the judges’ scorecards for the three completed rounds, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.
He was emphatically apologetic toward Cejudo after the decision was awarded, proposing a rematch to serve its rightful conclusion.
“Let’s run it back,” Yadong said. “I learned a lot from this fight.”
Cejudo confirmed he had trouble seeing out of his left eye after the poke, making the stoppage justifiable.
“I couldn’t see from the left (eye),” Cejudo said. “I wanted to continue, but if I can’t see, it’s gonna hurt me.”
Cejudo added he would gladly oblige Yadong’s rematch request.
“We can run it back, 100 percent,” Cejudo said. “That finger went in my eye pretty good.”
Yadong has won three out of his last four fights. Cejudo has dropped three in a row, which includes a loss to current bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili.
A grappling-heavy co-main event saw middleweight Anthony Hernandez (14-2 MMA) overcome Brendan Allen (24-7 MMA) to win by unanimous decision 29-28 on three scorecards to increase his divisional streak to seven. Hernandez also made UFC history, surpassing Chris Weidman for the most takedowns in promotional history with 41.
Allen has now lost two in a row after winning seven straight fights from February 2022 through April 2024.
Rob Font squeaked out a split decision against Jean Matsumoto in a 140-pound catchweight bout on two of three judges’ scorecards: 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. Font congratulated Matsumoto on a hard-fought bout as both men put on a striking clinic.
Font (22-8 MMA) has won two in a row, while Matsumoto (16-1 MMA) stepped in on short notice by replacing former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who eventually retired shortly thereafter.
Featherweight Jean Silva needed 4:15 of the opening round to finish Melsik Baghdasaryan by TKO, earning his fourth straight UFC win. Silva (15-2 MMA) called out fellow contender Bryce Mitchell (17-4 MMA) for a potential future fight.
Meanwhile, Baghdasaryan (8-3 MMA) has lost two of his last three, still seeking a win for the first time since a unanimous decision win against Tucker Lutz (12-4 MMA) last July.
The UFC Seattle main card opened with Alonzo Menifield fending off UFC debutant and ex-college basketball player Julius Walker in a back-and-forth striking contest. Menifield (16-5-1 MMA) handed Walker (6-1 MMA) his first loss, earning a split decision 29-28, 30-27, 28-29.
–Field Level Media
