Song Yadong won by technical decision against Henry Cejudo after an eye poke ended their UFC Seattle fight prematurely, but UFC President Dana White expressed no interest in a rematch despite both fighters being open to it.
Song Yadong and Henry Cejudo both seemed open to a rematch after their UFC Seattle main event fight ended in disappointment. But, it doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen.
The bantamweight bout took a turn when Cejudo couldn’t continue after a nasty eye poke from Song during an exchange. “I can’t f*cking see,” Cejudo repeatedly told his coaches, leading to the ringside physician stopping the fight.
Since three rounds were completed, judges tallied the scorecards, awarding Song a win by technical decision. Dana White, however, has seen enough and isn’t interested in a rematch.
“Not at all,” White stated during the post-fight press conference. “Not even a little bit. I just don’t want to see it again.”
White didn’t criticize Cejudo for not continuing but wasn’t surprised the fight ended after the eye poke compromised Cejudo’s vision. Up until then, Song was leading on the scorecards and appeared to be pulling further ahead.
“Yeah [I knew he wasn’t going to be able to continue],” White said about Cejudo. “I have no idea [how he was feeling]. I’ll let him answer all those questions.”
Song looked strong throughout, but only Cejudo can explain his thoughts on whether he considered stopping due to disqualification or no contest concerns.
The controversy mainly revolved around referee Jason Herzog’s choice not to deduct a point for the foul—something left to official discretion.
White didn’t think a point deduction was necessary since he believed Song didn’t foul intentionally. “If you thought he intentionally poked him in the eye, [you take a point],” White commented. “Why would he poke him in the eye? He was doing pretty well.”
While happy with the overall card in Seattle, White was clearly less enthusiastic about how the main event concluded, especially given the stoppage circumstances.
“Listen, eye pokes are never good but they happen a lot,” White remarked. “And fights do continue after eye pokes. I don’t know, I’d have to look and see how many fights are actually stopped due to an eye poke. Not many.”