'Who misses me?'… Petr Yan teases return as fighters react to UFC Seattle ending in eye-poke controversy
02/23/2025 12:54 AM
UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song ended in controversy after an accidental eye-poke brought what had been a fantastic bantamweight fight to an unceremonious conclusion.
UFC Seattle was on track to be potentially the single greatest night of UFC action in recent memory – with a whopping seven consecutive stoppages on the prelims, including highlight-reel knockouts for Jean Silva and Ricky Simon.
Unfortunately, the main card failed to continue that momentum; with the final three fights of the night all ending via the judges' scorecards. That includes the main event, which had been scheduled for five rounds, but was called off after just three.
Song Yadong wins 'technical decision' after Henry Cejudo loses vision
Former double champion Henry Cejudo and Chinese standout Song Yadong went back-and-forth in what was a sensational showdown of speed and skill – for all of 15 minutes.
After a low-blow brought a temporary reprieve in the third, there was a more significant pause in the action when Song accidentally eye-poked Cejudo; his outstretched fingers connecting with both eyes at once.
Whilst both fans in the arena and the commentators cageside were expecting the fight to continue after Cejudo used up his five minutes of recovery time, the former double champion soon began to complain that his vision had gone blurry.
In between rounds, it was decided that Cejudo was unable to continue – the referee allowed the fourth round to start, before calling time, and as more than half of the scheduled rounds had been completed, we went to the judges' score totals.
Song walks away with the technical decision win, although it's safe to say that no one is happy with the result.
- UFC SEATTLE: Henry Cejudo declares he and Michael Bisping are 'brothers' as he loses eye sight during loss to Song Yadong
Petr Yan leads reaction to controversial UFC Seattle main event
UFC fans and fighters alike are bitterly disappointed with how the main event ended; with the community frustrated with both the eye-poke and the chaos that ensued.
Former bantamweight champion Petr Yan posted, "Who misses me?" in response to the main event's unceremonious ending – before teasing that he'll be ready to make his UFC return in just a few short months: "May or June I'm ready to go."
Yan defeated Song Yadong via a unanimous decision in March 2024, and bested former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo last November – he's currently the #2 ranked bantamweight contender.
Terrance McKinney wrote on X, "Well damn," whilst Eryk Anders said that he "Hates that" conclusion, and Jamahal Hill acknowledged that it was a "Bitter end to an epic card."
Jason 'Mayhem' Miller simply called it the "WEIRDEST NIGHT EVER" and he certainly isn't wrong there with post-fight shoving matches and one-punch knockouts dominating the headlines.
Both Cejudo and Song stated that they would throwdown in an immediate rematch, but we'll have to wait and see which direction the UFC takes these two bantamweight contenders next.
