A bantamweight bout between former two-division champion Henry Cejudo and No. 8 ranked Song Yadong headlined Saturday’s UFC event at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Cejudo entered the fight coming off back-to-back losses but those losses were to the current champion Merab Dvalishvili and former titleholder Aljamain Sterling. “Triple C” was ranked No. 7 and looking to snap the two-fight skid and keep his status inside the Top 10 rankings.
Yadong made the walk to the octagon also coming off a loss. He was defeated by former champion Petr Yan in his last outing. Yadong was planning to get back in the win column and move into title contender status.
Cejudo took the center of the cage but Yadong connected first with a leg kick. Cejudo looked to counter and exploded forward with a flurry. Yadong moved just out of range. Yadong began inching forward. Cejudo used a lot of feints and movement on the outside. Yadong landed a right hand as Cejudo tried to close the distance. Yadong went to the body with a right hand. Cejudo pressed forward and walked into a left hand. They exchange leg kicks. Cejudo looked for a single-leg takedown but Yadong shook off the attempt. Cejudo had issued getting inside. Yadong landed a right hand and Cejudo pressed forward in the closing seconds. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Yadong.
They touched gloves to start the second frame. Yadong pressed forward and the two exchanged leg kicks. Cejudo exploded forward but didn’t land. Cejudo continued to utilize leg kicks. Yadong began stalking Cejudo. He connected with a big right hand. Cejudo responded with a leg kick. The pace picked up midway through the round. Both fighters had landed a lot of leg kicks. Yadong went to the body with a kick. Cejudo stepped into the pocket with a stiff jab. He landed a right hand. Yadong looked for a takedown but Cejudo defended it. Yadong connected with a left hook and Cejudo answered with a combination. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Cejudo.
Yadong came out in the third pumping his jab. Cejudo connected with a left hand. Yadong responded with a left of his own. Yadong connected with a combination. They stood right in front of each other. A right hand by Cejudo found a home. After a nice exchange, Yadong landed an accidental low kick. The fight was quickly restarted. They both started letting their hands go. Yadong partially landed a knee. Cejudo looked like he may have started slowing down. He landed a hard right hand, though. Cejudo was accidentally poked in the eye. “We can’t keep having accidents,” the referee told Yadong.
Cejudo wanted a point taken away for multiple violations. A doctor was brought in to check the eye. Cejudo took his time to recover. He sat down inside the cage. After five minutes, the fight was restarted with 1:16 on the clock.
Yadong pressured Cejudo. He connected with a right hand. Yadong went to the body with a left hook. Cejudo didn’t throw a strike. He circled away until the end of the round. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Yadong.
Cejudo said, “I can not see” to his corner. Cejudo asked for a doctor to check his eye. Cejudo could not continue so the fight was decided by the scorecards.
The judges scored the three rounds for Yadong. The scorecards read 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27 giving Yadong the win by technical decision.
