UFC Seattle results: Song Yadong decisions Henry Cejudo after controversial eye poke, demands rematch

Andrew Richardson is a professional fighter who trains at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, Calif., providing MMAmania.com (and its readers) with expert technical fighter breakdowns, insight and analysis you can't get anywhere else.

Song Yadong vs. Henry Cejudo squared off in a Bantamweight contest earlier tonight (Sat., Feb. 22, 2025) at UFC Seattle in Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. It was a great fight until a foul brought about an early end.

Yadong opened the fight with a committed attack on Cejudo’s lead leg. Cejudo’s early punches came up short, and he began to feint with his takedowns as a setup. The range was troubling Cejudo, who ate a few counters while trying to close forward. The wrestler did land a few low kicks of his own to good effect. Cejudo’s first takedown attempt of the fight was stuffed in short fashion. Cejudo landed a right, but then his body kick was caught and countered heavily by the Chinese athlete to close the round.

Nobody got stunned in the first, but both men were swinging with bad intentions.

The fighters traded low kicks to start the second, then Yadong dipped into a nice body jab. A clean Yadong low kick prompted a Cejudo stance switch. Yadong started to land more upstairs and Cejudo waved him in. Another Cejudo shot was stuffed, but he landed a left hook. The lead leg of “Triple C” was really getting chewed up. Yadong’s jab was working well at distance too. Cejudo lands his best punch yet, a solid jab, with about a minute left in the round. He surged forward and found more success with his hands. Cejudo willed himself back into the contest, stepping hard into the pocket and firing heavy with good success.

Fighting from Southpaw, Cejudo started the third with some clean left hand lands. Yadong ripped an extended combination to good effect, punctuating with more jabs. Really sharp jabs from Yadong, but a low blow paused the contest. The two exchanged wildly and both men landed hard shots. Huge step-in knee connected for Yadong, and if there was any doubt Henry Cejudo has a legendary chin ... The Olympian wasn’t backing away from exchanges even if he wasn’t winning them. A bad eye poke to Cejudo paused the action yet again. On the reset, Yadong surged forward with a strong combination.

Between rounds, Cejudo loudly complained that he wasn’t able to see. The ringside physician was brought in, and after much confusion, the fight was called. The crowd was pissed. On the bright side, the bout went long enough to go to the scorecards anyway.

All three judges named Yadong the victor.

It’s unclear what happens next. Maybe they run it back immediately? If not, Yadong was cleanly winning the fight prior to the eye poke, though Cejudo was definitely game and still in the contest. Ultimately, it’s just an unfortunate ending to an otherwise exciting night of action.

Result: Yadong defeats Cejudo via technical decision

For complete UFC Seattle results and play-by-play, click here.