Henry Cejudo still 'seeing double' after Song Yadong eye poke at UFC Seattle
Yesterday at 05:00 PM
Henry Cejudo lost a fight and a win bonus in the UFC Seattle, and the aftermath could have been even worse.
This past Saturday's main event ended in controversy, when Cejudo was left unable to continue following a Song Yadong eye poke. The situation was muddled by Cejudo being poked late in Round 3, continuing to compete until the end of the frame, and then saying he was unable to see heading into Round 4. Referee Jason Herzog called a stop to the contest and the bout went to the judges, who awarded Song a technical decision.
According to Cejudo, he suffered "diplopia, soft tissue damage, corneal abrasion" from the foul, and Song's finger was actually close to ruining his vision altogether.
"Things are still blurry in my left eye," Cejudo said on the Pound 4 Pound podcast. "I'm still seeing double. Even as I'm watching the fight right now on the screen, my eye is still not good.
"Luckily, I saw the ophthalmologist today and this is what she said, 'If that pinky would have hit you in the pupil, you would be blind.' I have a dent in my eye. It freaking ruptured. … It's damaged."
With the loss, Cejudo is now 0-3 since coming out of retirement in 2023 and hasn't won a fight since 2020. The former two-division champion's previous losses during this run were to then-bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 and future champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298. Losing to the less heralded Song is a bitter pill to swallow.
Making things worse for Cejudo is that he doesn't feel he had the chance to battle back and earn his pay.
"That just cost me $150,000 right there," Cejudo said. "I've got kids. That is the prize money for me. It's not just a f*cking win. That's the same reason why I decided to go back, because when you can't, you can't.
"I apologize to everybody who I've ever doubted. It's not until it happens to you where you're just like, f*ck, dude. Maybe it was time for me to eat some humble pie here. You just never know and I just feel like it should have been a point and if they would have done that whole point thing, this fight would have been a draw at least."
As far as criticism of his handling of the situation goes, Cejudo explained that he was well aware of how the rules worked, but thought his vision might clear up between rounds.
"I did [know the rules] if I recall," Cejudo said. "But I wanted to fight. It's the same reason why I took the five minutes and I can see where people kind of took it because I'm smiling, but that's just me. I kind of did this, like, 'Hey you guys, give me a second. I'm going to fight. I'm just waiting for my eyesight to come back.' So I think where people really need to—I mean, I can open my eyes, but the only problem is I was seeing double. I was seeing two of Song, I think that was the biggest thing.
"I can see where people probably took it like he's just playing or having fun or whatever it is that you want to call it… that's why I asked the referee how much time is on the clock. He said, 'A minute and 16 seconds.' I'm like, 'How much time do I have until I have to in there?'and I forgot what they said. I had maybe a couple of minutes, so I decided to just catch that—I was already recovered. I'm just really trying to get my eyesight back and unfortunately it just never came back."
Cejudo and Song are both interested in running back the fight, though UFC CEO Dana Whitehas already shot down the suggestion.
If a rematch with Song is not in the cards, Cejudo has a big-name opponent in mind next.
"If we can't get Song, I would love to fight Petr Yan," Cejudo said. "Petr Yan is looking to fight in May, if the UFC is willing to give me that, I'll take it. If I don't get Song, if I don't get that rematch."
