UFC fighter Song Yadong stayed true to his promise and defeated Henry Cejudo in the main event of UFC Seattle.
Yadong came into the cage strong, landing punches and blows. He kept his distance but was still close enough to pepper his opponent with a barrage of punches. Yadong had the upper hand for most of the rounds, but he soon compromised his opponent’s vision with an eye poke. This illegal move left Cejudo blindsided in his left eye, but the referee did not notice this in time and continued to fight round after round until the third round came to an end.
During the rounds’ intervals, Cejudo complained to his coaches about being unable to see. The doctor came in to examine the former two-time champion and declared the fight over cause he couldn’t see out of one eye. After three stressful rounds for Cejudo, the winner was announced, and Yadong triumphed via technical decision.
“That was totally accidental,” Song said about the eye poke. “This result is not what I wanted. I’m so sorry, Henry. I think we should run it back. We will fight again. Sorry fans. I learned a lot from this fight. I will do better next time in a rematch.”
Cejudo’s persistence in fighting through the round not only earned him a loss but also a damaged eye.
“I don’t know what the f*ck he’s throwing at me … I can’t f*cking see,” Cejudo said. “I cannot f*cking see. I couldn’t see [out of] my left [eye]. My right’s OK but even that last minute when he was chasing, I didn’t know what he was throwing at me. I can’t see from the left. I wanted to continue. If I can’t see, he’s going to hurt me. OF course, we can run it back 100 percent. F*ck, that finger went in my eye pretty good.”
Yadong’s win has further solidified the fighter as a formidable opponent to watch out for and has his mind on some top opponents in the game.
“My goal is the world champion, so whatever UFC gives me, I want to fight the guys who are ranked above me,” Song said. “If not Henry, give me (Sean) O’Malley. I can fight any time.”
Although both fighters are willing to have a rematch, UFC CEO Dana White has come out to shut these rumors down. White says he is not interested in rebooking a match but Cejudo has other plans in mind and has requested that the CEO should reconsider.
“Thank you to all of my fans and all of my haters. 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.”
For now it is uncertain if White will change his mind but until then, Cejudo revealed he will be taking time out to heal after suffering corneal abrasion, soft tissue damage, diplopia from the eye poke.
