In the aftermath of his third straight loss, Henry Cejudo is adamant that circumstances should give him another shot at Song Yadong.
Song (22-8-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC) beat former two-division champion Cejudo (16-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) with a technical decision in the UFC Fight Night 252 main event at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. The five-round fight was scored after three rounds when Cejudo said he no longer could see due to a third-round inadvertent eye poke.
Cejudo posted on social media to say because of the poke, he doesn’t think he lost the fight, and doesn’t think Song won. Both fighters are interested in a rematch, though UFC CEO Dana White implied after the event it’s not likely.
“Thank you to all of my fans and all of my haters,” Cejudo posted. “Well that’s not how I wanted the night to end for the fans, for Song, and definitely not for myself. We need to run this fight back ASAP!!! @danawhite I heard what you said but I encourage you to reconsider. All respect to Song, you are a warrior… but you did not win this fight and I did not lose. We have unfinished business. And I know that you agree. Run. It. Back. #UFC Seattle”
Replays showed Song caught Cejudo with an open hand in both eyes. Cejudo later said vision in his right eye was OK, but he couldn’t see out of his left. Immediately after the poke, Cejudo took the entirety of his five-minute recovery time. At times in the five minutes, it appeared he was ready to restart, then told referee Jason Herzog he needed more time until the five minutes was exhausted.
What level of possible gamesmanship was at work by Cejudo is up for debate. During his five-minute recovery break, he appeared to have some lighthearted moments with Herzog and the fans, who booed when he sat down on the canvas with his back against the cage for a portion of the timeout.
On the restart, Song came out quickly and put the pressure on in the final seconds of the round, but in between frames Cejudo told his corner, Herzog and the cageside doctor he couldn’t see. After some confusion about how the official result needed to work within the rules, the three complete rounds were scored and Song had the scorecards from all three judges.
Cejudo was bantamweight and flyweight champion, but retired unexpectedly in 2020 after a bantamweight title defense against Dominick Cruz. He returned three years later and challenged Aljamain Sterling for the 135-pound title, but lost. Nine months later, he lost to new champion Merab Dvalishvili. And now the lost to Song gives him a three-fight skid for the first time in his career, all since he returned from his three-year retirement.
Song, who was more than a 2-1 favorite in the fight, got back in the win column after a loss nearly a year ago to former bantamweight champ Petr Yan. He now has won six of his past eight at bantamweight, but the Cejudo victory is the biggest of his career.
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