This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Seattle, we saw a pivotal matchup in the bantamweight division. Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo (16-5) was looking to get a much needed win against top ten contender Song Yadong (22-8-1).
Cejudo walked away from the sport in 2020 after defending the bantamweight title. He was 16-2 and he was considered one of the best P4P fighters on the planet. Upon his return to the octagon over the last couple of years, he had lost two fights in a row to Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili. No shame in those losses, but this was an opportunity to show he’s still at a top level.
Song Yadong is a very good contender, but I wouldn’t put him in that elite class. This was a great test for Cejudo. Cejudo had moments but he seemed to be a slight step behind Song through the first half of the fight. I had the fight 1-1 entering the third with Song winning the third round. However, Cejudo suffered a nasty eye poke with about a minute left in the round.
Cejudo took the entire five minutes to try and recover. The former UFC champ continued the final minute but he was in pure survival mode and he told his corner he couldn’t see. The fight was waved off and it went to a technical decision where Song was declared the winner.
What’s next after UFC Seattle?
I hate the way that this fight ended on Saturday night. While on one hand I believe that Song deserved to win given his performance, I don’t think he should’ve been declared the winner. Cejudo should’ve just told Jason Herzog that he couldn’t continue and the fight would’ve been a No Contest given how bad his vision was. His decision to continue ultimately cost him the fight.
In addition, we have got to start punishing guys for devastating eye pokes. They are 100% accidental, but when you have fouls that are so detrimental, they have to be punished and referees need to be quicker on the point trigger. If you want to stop eye pokes, start taking points away sooner than later and you’ll correct the behavior. Song should’ve had a point taken which would’ve made the fight a technical draw after three rounds at UFC Seattle.
It’s an incredibly tough break for Cejudo who instead of getting a No Contest or draw suffered a decision loss which was his third in a row. He really wants to run things back with Song, but I’m not sure that’ll happen. I want to see Cejudo recover from the eye injury and then decide if he wants to continue.
Should Cejudo opt to return, I think a great next fight for him would be Jose Aldo. Aldo is fighting Aimann Zahabi at UFC 315 in May. If Aldo gets the win, I think the matchup between the two former champions makes all the sense in the world. I also wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Cejudo and Mario Bautista after their run-in earlier this year.