Henry Cejudo faced criticism after his fight against Song Yadong was stopped due to an eye poke, resulting in a technical decision win for Song, as Cejudo claimed double vision and other injuries but some accused him of using the incident as an excuse, while UFC CEO Dana White dismissed the idea of a rematch.
Henry Cejudo faced a storm of criticism right after his fight against Song Yadong was halted. The reason? An eye poke in the third round at UFC Seattle left him unable to continue.
Referee Jason Herzog had no choice but to pause the action. He gave Cejudo five minutes to recover, with the ringside physician stepping into the octagon for a check-up. Despite efforts to soldier on, Cejudo eventually told his coaches, “I cannot f*cking see.”
Moments later, the fight was stopped. Song was declared the winner by technical decision since three full rounds had already passed, allowing judges’ scorecards to come into play.
On Sunday, Cejudo shared a close-up photo revealing the damage to his eye. The caption read: “diplopia, soft tissue damage, corneal abrasion.” Ouch!
Adding fuel to the fire, Cejudo posted another caption saying critics claimed he “wanted a way out.” They accused him of using the eye poke as an excuse.
Diplopia — that’s double vision for those not in the know — was reportedly Cejudo’s biggest hurdle post-poke. Trying to fight like that? No thanks.
Despite the foul, Herzog chose not to penalize Song or deduct a point. The scorecards read 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28, all favoring Song. A point deduction could’ve turned it into a majority draw.
Cejudo skipped post-fight media duties. Instead, he headed straight to a Seattle hospital for medical treatment after everything wrapped up.
He quickly called for a rematch with Song, hoping for redemption. However, UFC CEO Dana White wasn’t having it. “I just don’t want to see it again,” he said.
A disappointing end to the main event for sure. Just as Song was gaining momentum in round three, that eye poke brought everything crashing down.