UFC Seattle Start Time, Full Fight Card Details!

Yesterday at 10:29 AM

While most of the combat talk this week is/was surrounding the highly-anticipated championship boxing rematch between Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol over in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (details here), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will hold down the mixed martial arts (MMA) portion stateside.

Indeed, UFC Seattle goes down later TONIGHT (Feb. 22, 2025) in Seattle, Wash., from inside Climate Pledge Arena. Headlining the ESPN+-streamed event will be a Bantamweight showdown between former "champ champ," Henry Cejudo, and top-ranked contender, Song Yadong.

What's Hot:

Cejudo was sitting on the top of the UFC world in May 2020 after he knocked outDominick Cruz in a successful Bantamweight title defense. He was also enjoying a six-fight win streak while being an active double-champion, as he also laid claim to UFC's Flyweight title. But, two weeks later, "Triple C" dropped a bombshell announcement, revealing he had retired from the sport. After returning three years later, he ran into Aljamain Sterling, who defeated him via split decision at UFC 288. Then, at UFC 298 nine months later, he was dominated by Merab Dvalishvili, giving him his second-ever, two-fight losing streak. That's a drastic fall from a man who was considered one of the best in the business. Now, he will look to avoid a third straight loss against a dangerous contender who sits just one spot behind him in UFC's rankings.

That man is none other than Song Yadong, who is coming off a tough loss to Petr Yan at UFC 299.

Song is 5-2 in his last seven fights. His two biggest wins have come against Marlon Vera and Marlon Moraes, but taking out Cejudo will trump those rather easily despite "Triple C's" recent struggles. Obviously, Yadong will have to be cautious of Cejudo's world-class wrestling skills. That said, Cejudo has been pretty content with staying on the feet, which will give Yadong opportunities to strike and land ... and possibly pull off a huge win. Still, one can't help but to feel that this fight isn't moving the Space Needle because, let's face it, Cejudo isn't the same draw he once was.

What's Not:

All the injuries and last-minute changes. Indeed, this fight card started off looking promising, but it took one hitafter another ... after another, leaving it looking like a shell of its former self. There's not much a promotion can do about injuries, but UFC tried its best to fill the holes, which we will discuss in detail in the next section.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

Curtis Blaydes and Rizvan Kuniev were in line to fight in the co-main event before UFC decided it was best to shift the Heavyweight slugfest over to UFC 313. Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trocoli was also scheduled for this event before Trocoli withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by UFC newcomer, Nick Klein.

Injuries:

Former two-time Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz, suffered an injury in training and was forced out of his fight against Rob Font. A few days later, "The Dominator" decided it was time to call it a career once and for all. Stepping in to take his place is Jean Matsumoto. Also, Edson Barboza was forced out of his 145-pound showdown against Steve Garcia with an undisclosed injury, prompting officials to yank Garcia from the event altogether.

If that were not enough, Macy Chiasson was in line to face Ketlen Vieira before she was forced out of the event with an undisclosed injury. Plus, Welterweight promotional newcomer, Islam Dulatov, withdrew from his fight against Adam Fuggit fight due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Billy Goff; however, that new fight was axed after Fuggit suffered an injury of his own.

New Blood:

Austin Vanderfordgot his chance to shine on UFC's big stage unexpectedly, getting a last-minute call to face Nikolay Veretennikov on short notice. After ending his Bellator run with two straight defeats, Vanderford secured a much-needed win under the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) banner, defeating Victor Romero via first round technical knockout. Now, the once-promising Welterweight contender will attempt to start his UFC run on a positive note, going up against a man who failed to make a splash in his own Octagon debut back in Aug. 2024 (Veretennikov lost to Danny Barlow via split decision).

Nick Klein submitted Heraldo Souza in the first round on season eight of Contender Series, which was his third straight submission win. That was good enough to earn him a contract in the big leagues, and will now face Mansur Abdul-Malik, another Contender Series alum who made good on his debut by defeating Dusko Todorovic via first round technical knockout in Nov. 2024. That win improved his record to 7-0, 1-0 UFC, six of those coming by way of first round stoppage.

After racking up six straight stoppage wins, five in the first round, Julius Walker got the call up to the big show. In his first challenge, he will face long-time veteran, Alonzo Menifield, in a Light Heavyweight contest in the opening fight of the main card. Menifield is currently on a two-fight skid, so he needs a win pretty badly if he doesn't want to be the next man to get cut to make way for all of the new talent UFC is acquiring.

Six years after making his professional debut, Eric McConico will finally get to show off his skills on the biggest MMA stage of them all. After suffering back-to-back losses in 2019, McConico stormed back to win his last five in a row. He will battle Nursulton Ruziboev, who saw his 10-fight win streak go up in smoke after running into Joaquin Buckley last summer.

How The 'Prelims' Look:

Raffael Cerqueira got off to a rough start to his UFC career, losing to Ibo Aslan in just 51 seconds back in Oct. 2024 (see it again here). Now, he will look to get back on track when he takes on Modestas Bukauskas in the opening fight of the night. Winner of five of his last is fights under UFC's banner, Bukauskas was last seen submitting Marcin Prachnio last summer.

Andre Fili has been the poster boy for inconsistency for some time now. While talented, he has never won more than two straight fights (on two occasions) during his entire decade-long UFC career. He has a UFC record of 12-10-1, which oddly enough has been good enough to keep him with the promotion. As for his opponent, Melquizael Costa, he is coming off a submission win over Nuerdanbieke Shayilan.

Ibo Aslan, meanwhile, has got off to a great start to his UFC career, winning his first two fights with the promotion via technical knockout. He also scores a first round technical knockout win on Contender Series, which earned him his contract. All told, he is on a six-fight win streak and will attempt to reach lucky No. 7 against Ion Cutelaba, who is 2-4 in his last six UFC fights, though he is coming off a split decision win over Ivan Erslan.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Ricky Simon started his UFC career with an impressive 8-2 run, defeating the likes of Jack Shore, Raphael Assuncao and even submitted current Bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili, early in his career. But, things have gone pretty badly for him over the last few years, losing three in a row with his last win coming in July 2022. He will attempt to snap his skid when he takes on Javid Basharat, who suffered the first loss of his career at the hands of Aiemann Zahabi in his last fight. Prior to that, he was undefeated at 14-0-1. Simon is in a must-win situation here because a fourth straight defeat could get him a one-way ticket out of the Octagon.

Interest Level: 6/10

In the co-main event, the No. 9-ranked Middleweight in the world, Brendan Allen, will attempt to start another win streak after his previous one — which was up to seven — was snapped by Nassourdine Imavov in his last outing. Allen was on the cusp of breaking into the Top 5 and making a case of a title shot, but that now belongs to Imavov, who stopped Israel Adesanya in his last bout (see it here). He has a tough out because Anthony Hernandez is scorching hot with six straight wins. Five of those wins have been stoppages, including submitting Roman Kopylov at UFC 298 (highlights), and then knocking out Michel Pereira seven months later rather viciously (see it again here). This is a great bout between two talented 185-pound fighters looking to break into the upper echelon of the division.

Rob Font has taken a bit of a hit in his career over the last few years, winning just two of his last six fights. He is coming off a win over Kyler Phillips, and will attempt to pick up his first back-to-back win streak in five years against undefeated rising contender, Jean Matsumoto. The Contender Series alum is 2-0 inside the Octagon, racking up 16 straights win to kickoff his MMA career. He has a big chance here to take out a long-time veteran, who was initially hoping to take on the aforementioned Cruz. And finally, winner of 11 in a row, Jean Silva eyes consecutive UFC win No. 4 after winning his first three UFC fights via technical knockout, when he goes up against Melsik Baghdasaryan, who is 3-1 under UFC's banner and is fresh off a win over Tucker Lutz.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Seattle Fight Card:

UFC Seattle Main Event on ESPN+:

135 lbs.: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong

UFC Seattle Main Card on ESPN+ (9 p.m. ET):

185 lbs.: Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez
145 lbs.: Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
205 lbs.: Julius Walker vs. Alonzo Menifield
140 lbs.: Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto (not Dominick Cruz)
145 lbs.: Edson Barboza vs. Steve Garcia — CANCELED (details here)

UFC Seattle "Prelims" Undercard on ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET):

265 lbs.: Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev — Rescheduled for UFC 313
145 lbs.: Andre Fili vs. Melquizael Costa
205 lbs.: Ion Cutelaba vs. Ibo Aslan
185 lbs.: Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Eric McConico (details here)
135 lbs.: Ricky Simon vs. Javid Basharat
185 lbs.: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Nick Klein
205 lbs.: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira
175 lbs.: Austin Vanderford vs. Nikolay Veretennikov
170 lbs.: Adam Fugitt vs. Billy Ray Goff — CANCELED
135 lbs.: Ketlen Vieira vs. Macy Chiasson — CANCELED

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Seattle card right here, starting with the ESPN+ "Prelims" matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 9 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Seattle: "Cejudo vs. Song" news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.