Tag: Henry Cejudo

Sean O’Malley’s Coach Accuses Henry Cejudo Of Quitting At UFC Seattle: ‘Knew He Had Nothing Left’

The coach of former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has become the latest to accuse Henry Cejudo of looking for a way out of his fight with Song Yadong on Saturday night. Inside Climate Pledge Arena, Cejudo fell to a third straight loss since returning from retirement. His latest setback came at the hands of […]

The coach of former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has become the latest to accuse Henry Cejudo of looking for a way out of his fight with Song Yadong on Saturday night.

Inside Climate Pledge Arena, Cejudo fell to a third straight loss since returning from retirement. His latest setback came at the hands of “The Kung Fu Kid” in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Seattle.

After falling behind on the scorecards, a bad eye poke in the third round ultimately prevented “Triple C” from finishing out the fight, with referee Jason Herzog waving things off at the start of the fourth.

As is often the case when a foul leads to a no contest or technical decision, Cejudo has received backlash from some for how the main event on Feb. 22 concluded.

Some have accused the 2008 Olympic gold medalist of quitting, disregarding his claim of compromised vision. Among them is Tim Welch, who’s best known for coaching a bantamweight rival of Cejudo’s in O’Malley.

“Henry knew he had nothing left for Song,” Welch wrote on X.

Cejudo has unsurprisingly not taken kindly to suggestions he sought a way out of the UFC Seattle headliner.

While he hasn’t responded directly to Welch, he did hit back at the narrative as a whole by listing the eye injuries he apparently sustained as a result of Song’s poke.

Henry Cejudo Hits Back At UFC Seattle Critics With List Of Apparent Eye Injuries

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo has pushed back on claims he was looking for a way out of Saturday’s main event against Song Yadong. Cejudo’s wait for a first victory since returning from retirement in 2023 goes on after this weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Seattle, Washington, which he headlined in defense of his […]

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo has pushed back on claims he was looking for a way out of Saturday’s main event against Song Yadong.

Cejudo’s wait for a first victory since returning from retirement in 2023 goes on after this weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Seattle, Washington, which he headlined in defense of his #7 spot in the bantamweight rankings.

After defeats to Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili, “Triple C” fell to a third straight loss inside Climate Pledge Arena — but not in a common way.

Cejudo was handed a technical decision setback after being unable to continue due to a deep eye poke late in the third frame. With referee Jason Herzog deeming the foul unintentional — and with over half the scheduled rounds complete — the bout went to the scorecards, all of which were in favor of “The Kung Fu Kid.”

As is often the case when an athlete doesn’t continue following a foul, Cejudo has faced flak from some corners of the MMA community who have accused him of quitting.

The 2008 Olympic gold medalist has not taken kindly to such claims, taking to X to hit back at the allegation by listing the injuries he apparently sustained from Song’s poke.

“Diplopia, Soft Tissue Damage, Corneal Abrasion,” he wrote.”‘hE wANteD a wAy OuT’ #UFCSeattle“

It remains to be seen what will come next for Cejudo in the UFC. While the two fighters expressed mutual interest in running things back, UFC CEO Dana White was quick to shut that suggestion down during his post-fight press conference.

Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong Ends in Controversy After ‘Triple C’ Suffers Gruesome Eye Poke – UFC Seattle Highlights

Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong Ends in Controversy After 'Triple C' Suffers Gruesome Eye Poke - UFC Seattle HighlightsSong Yadong scored the biggest win of his MMA career against Henry Cejudo at UFC Seattle, but it came…

Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong Ends in Controversy After 'Triple C' Suffers Gruesome Eye Poke - UFC Seattle Highlights

Song Yadong scored the biggest win of his MMA career against Henry Cejudo at UFC Seattle, but it came with a healthy dose of controversy.

Through more than two-and-a-half rounds, Song and Cejudo delivered an entertaining scrap that saw the two bantamweight stars landing big shots on one another. However, things took a turn for the worse with just over a minute left in the third when Song inadvertently poked ‘Triple C’ in the eye.

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Replay showed that it was an especially bad eye poke that prompted Cejudo to take the full five minutes of rest time before resuming the fight. Cejudo stayed elusive through the remainder of the round, clearly just trying to get back to his corner.

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Once Cejudo made it to his stool, he immediately told his corner that he couldn’t see out of his left eye and asked for the cageside physician to come in and check. With Cejudo explaining that he can’t see, referee Jason Herzog explained to both fighters that he would begin the fourth round and then immediately bring it to a pause which would allow him to send the five-round fight to the scorecards earlier than expected.

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Technically, Herzog did not need to start the fourth round. Regardless, the fight was called off and we went to the scorecards which revealed Song Yadong as the winner.

Official Result: Song Yadong def. Henry Cejudo via technical decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

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Interestingly, if Cejudo had opted to bow out of the fight with time still left in the third round, the fight would have been ruled a no-contest. By finishing the third round, that is what allowed Herzog to go to the scorecards and hand ‘Triple C’ his third straight loss.

check out highlights from Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong at UFC Seattle:

‘Embarrassment Of A Main Event’ – Fans Left Unsatisfied After Bizarre End To Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong At UFC Seattle

After a thrilling card that featured plenty of finishes and standout performances, UFC Seattle’s main event between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong left the west coast crowd with a lot to be desired. Song came out on top in his main event bout against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo via decision, but the fight’s conclusion […]

After a thrilling card that featured plenty of finishes and standout performances, UFC Seattle’s main event between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong left the west coast crowd with a lot to be desired.

Song came out on top in his main event bout against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo via decision, but the fight’s conclusion came under dubious circumstances.

The first round proved to be close, but quiet. “Triple C” tried to use his boxing, mixing in leg kicks, to start dictating how the fight would go. Song, however, seemed to land the stronger strikes and combinations in answering back. This pace continued into the second round, but the American would have the notable strongest strikes of the round, busting up “The Kung Fu Kid’s” nose late in the frame.

But everything came to a sudden and spiraling halt in the third round, when Cejudo was poked in the eye accidentally on two occasions. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist took the full five minutes, saying he was still fine to fight. But upon going back to his corner at the end of the third, Cejudo complained that he was unable to see.

The fight was halted, and referee Jason Herzog ruled that with three out of the possible five rounds completed, the fight would go to the judges’ scorecards for a technical decision. He even claimed to Song’s team that such a ruling would save him from what would have been a disqualification loss.

The Chinese contender won on all three judges’ cards, with two 29-28s and a 30-27.

Song Yadong Gets Technical Decision Win Over Henry Cejudo In Lackluster UFC Seattle Main Event

Song has now won three of four and six of his last eight. He rebounds from a loss to Petr Yan at UFC 299 last year.

Cejudo, meanwhile, has now lost all three fights since coming out of retirement, dropping a split decision to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 for the bantamweight title and a unanimous decision to current champ Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298.

‘Embarrassment Of A Main Event’ – Fans Left Unsatisfied After Bizarre End To Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong At UFC Seattle

After a thrilling card that featured plenty of finishes and standout performances, UFC Seattle’s main event between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong left the west coast crowd with a lot to be desired. Song came out on top in his main event bout against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo via decision, but the fight’s conclusion […]

After a thrilling card that featured plenty of finishes and standout performances, UFC Seattle’s main event between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong left the west coast crowd with a lot to be desired.

Song came out on top in his main event bout against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo via decision, but the fight’s conclusion came under dubious circumstances.

The first round proved to be close, but quiet. “Triple C” tried to use his boxing, mixing in leg kicks, to start dictating how the fight would go. Song, however, seemed to land the stronger strikes and combinations in answering back. This pace continued into the second round, but the American would have the notable strongest strikes of the round, busting up “The Kung Fu Kid’s” nose late in the frame.

But everything came to a sudden and spiraling halt in the third round, when Cejudo was poked in the eye accidentally on two occasions. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist took the full five minutes, saying he was still fine to fight. But upon going back to his corner at the end of the third, Cejudo complained that he was unable to see.

The fight was halted, and referee Jason Herzog ruled that with three out of the possible five rounds completed, the fight would go to the judges’ scorecards for a technical decision. He even claimed to Song’s team that such a ruling would save him from what would have been a disqualification loss.

The Chinese contender won on all three judges’ cards, with two 29-28s and a 30-27.

Song Yadong Gets Technical Decision Win Over Henry Cejudo In Lackluster UFC Seattle Main Event

Song has now won three of four and six of his last eight. He rebounds from a loss to Petr Yan at UFC 299 last year.

Cejudo, meanwhile, has now lost all three fights since coming out of retirement, dropping a split decision to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 for the bantamweight title and a unanimous decision to current champ Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298.

‘Embarrassment Of A Main Event’ – Fans Left Unsatisfied After Bizarre End To Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong At UFC Seattle

After a thrilling card that featured plenty of finishes and standout performances, UFC Seattle’s main event between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong left the west coast crowd with a lot to be desired. Song came out on top in his main event bout against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo via decision, but the fight’s conclusion […]

After a thrilling card that featured plenty of finishes and standout performances, UFC Seattle’s main event between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong left the west coast crowd with a lot to be desired.

Song came out on top in his main event bout against former two-division champion Henry Cejudo via decision, but the fight’s conclusion came under dubious circumstances.

The first round proved to be close, but quiet. “Triple C” tried to use his boxing, mixing in leg kicks, to start dictating how the fight would go. Song, however, seemed to land the stronger strikes and combinations in answering back. This pace continued into the second round, but the American would have the notable strongest strikes of the round, busting up “The Kung Fu Kid’s” nose late in the frame.

But everything came to a sudden and spiraling halt in the third round, when Cejudo was poked in the eye accidentally on two occasions. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist took the full five minutes, saying he was still fine to fight. But upon going back to his corner at the end of the third, Cejudo complained that he was unable to see.

The fight was halted, and referee Jason Herzog ruled that with three out of the possible five rounds completed, the fight would go to the judges’ scorecards for a technical decision. He even claimed to Song’s team that such a ruling would save him from what would have been a disqualification loss.

The Chinese contender won on all three judges’ cards, with two 29-28s and a 30-27.

Song Yadong Gets Technical Decision Win Over Henry Cejudo In Lackluster UFC Seattle Main Event

Song has now won three of four and six of his last eight. He rebounds from a loss to Petr Yan at UFC 299 last year.

Cejudo, meanwhile, has now lost all three fights since coming out of retirement, dropping a split decision to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 for the bantamweight title and a unanimous decision to current champ Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298.