UFC Fight Night - Henry Cejudo vs Song Yadong

The UFC returns to Seattle for a stellar Fight Night Card headlined by none other than the former Flyweight champion, Henry Cejudo, who wants to get another crack at the title. But first, he has to go through the hard-hitting Kung Fu Kid, Song Yadong, whose climb to the top has been disrupted after the loss to Petr Yan. 

Both fighters have a lot to prove and even more to fight for. Cejude has stepped down and retired when he was on top, which might have been a costly mistake. Now, he is fighting in a different division, where he faces much stiffer competition than he once had. Yadong, currently ranked 8th in the division, has been an interesting fighter to watch. But he has failed every time when put opposite a higher-ranked fighter. If he wants to advance, he has to put Cejudo away and do it with style points.

Henry Cejudo Record (16-4)

After capturing the Flyweight title by defeating none other than the legendary Mighty Mouse, Cejudo went on to defend his belt three times in matches where he even defeated TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz. He decided to retire but couldn’t stay away from the game for too long.

He came back after a three-year hiatus and unfortunately went 0-2. He had two consecutive fights only once in his career before this, but has never dropped three. Losses to Aljamain Sterling and the champ Merab Dvalishvili were something that was to be expected. 

Time is something that gets the better of all of us and it seems that Cejudo is not willing to let go. It is in many people’s opinion that he should have stayed retired or continued fighting when he could. Even though he is an Olympic-level wrestler and has improved his standup game, at 38 years old, in a division where younger fighters thrive, I don’t see him sticking around for long.

Song Yadong Record (21-1-8-1)

Yadong was labelled as the next best prospect coming from China. He made his UFC debut by submitting Bharat Khandare and went on a tear where he remained five flights undefeated. However, whenever he went up in competition, he seemed to fail. 

He suffered losses to Kyler Phillips, Cory Sandhagen, and most recently to Petr Yan. Song Yadong is an exceptional striker and his record proves it. He has been able to stop the likes of Ricky Simon, Julio Arce, and Marlon Moraes. He even has a decision victory over Marlon Vera back in 2020.

Yadong is facing a very experienced opponent in Cejudo, but he still has a legitimate chance of winning. Youth is on his side and in a division where younger and faster fighters are the ones who thrive, he should avoid dropping two for the first time in his career.

Henry Cejudo vs Song Yadong

This may sound like a striker versus wrestler matchup, but I don’t see it going that way. Cejudo has used more striking than he has been wrestling in his career, and I don’t see him changing that for this fight. On the other hand, Yadong is really good on his feet and can really pack a punch. 

Cejudo has only lost once to punches in this MMA career, so Yadong might be the first one to try and knock him out. However, Cejudo is perhaps the stronger fighter and he should try and leverage his strength to get to a victory.

Nevertheless, I see Yadong still managing to control this fight. He is the faster fighter and the one with the one-punch power, that Cejudo should want to stay away from. He might not be able to KO Henry, but I see this going to a decision in favour of Song Yadong.

SAFER GAMBLING

At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.