Henry Cejudo is feeling frustrated with the way his UFC Fight Night 252 main event unfolded against Song Yadong last Saturday, but he’s already focusing on a potential matchup with another former champion.
Cejudo (16-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) thought he was beginning to turn the tide in his fight against Song (22-8-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC) at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, only for a severe eye poke late in the third round to abruptly end the contest. The poke was so damaging that Cejudo was unable to continue into the fourth round.
“I saw the ophthalmologist today, dude, and this is what she said: She said if that pinky would have hit you in the pupil, you would be blind, dude,” Cejudo shared with Kamaru Usman on “Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry.” “I have a dent in my eye, dude.”
With the fight ending prematurely, it went to the scorecards, and Song was declared the winner by unanimous decision via technical decision. This outcome left Cejudo frustrated, as he felt that referee Jason Herzog didn’t hold Song accountable for his actions in the Octagon. Cejudo pointed to an incident when Song immediately extended his fingers near his face once the fight resumed after the eye poke.
To move past this setback, Cejudo hopes the UFC will book a rematch with Song in the near future. However, UFC president Dana White has already expressed disinterest in seeing that fight again. As a backup, Cejudo is now looking at another former champion as a potential opponent.
“Petr Yan, man,” Cejudo said. “Obviously, Kamaru, I would love to run it back if Dana – you know, obviously this is Dana’s decision, dude. I know when he says certain sh*t, like he lays on it. But if we can’t run it back with Song, because I don’t feel like I lost to him. I really don’t bro.
“OK, I lost to Aljamain (Sterling), I lost to f*cking Merab (Dvalishvili), my last two fights. I don’t feel like that with this dude. If we can run it back and do a five-round – we could do it at the Apex, we could do it for free, dude. To me, at this point, it’s just about competing and really showing the competitive spirit in me. But if we can’t get Song, I would love to fight Petr Yan, dude. Petr Yan’s looking to fight in May. If the UFC is willing to give me that, I’ll take it.”
Usman raised some concerns, suggesting the UFC may consider Yan as a top contender for a title shot.
“They’re talking about (Sean) O’Malley and homeboy (Dvalishvili),” Cejudo responded. “What’s he going to do? Sit out for a f*cking year? Petr wants to fight in May, bro.”
“Let’s go dude,” Cejudo added. “I’m here. I’ll be good by May. As soon as my eye clears up, which should be within days – and I’m still seeing double, Kamaru. As soon as it clears, I want to get back to the gym and just scrap, dude. I want to fight, dude. That’s all there is to it.”
