Song Yadong won a technical decision over Henry Cejudo after an accidental eye poke compromised Cejudo’s vision, leading to controversy as no penalty was assessed and the fight went to the scorecards, resulting in a win for Song despite his desire for a rematch due to the unsatisfactory conclusion.
On paper, Song Yadong holds a victory over Henry Cejudo, but it didn’t unfold as he might have hoped. Following a promising start, Song inadvertently poked Cejudo in the eye—a nasty one that left the Olympic champ squinting and struggling to see. Replays? They showed two fingers going right into Cejudo’s eyes. Yet, referee Jason Herzog didn’t penalize Song, and the fight rolled on until the third round concluded.
Between rounds, Cejudo confided in his coaches about his compromised vision. “I don’t know what the fck he’s throwing at me… I can’t fcking see,” he lamented. Frustration was palpable. “I cannot f*cking see.” The doc checked him out, but it was clear: the fight was done for Cejudo with one eye effectively out of commission.
A curious twist of fate—if Cejudo had stopped after the initial eye poke, maybe it would’ve been declared a no contest. But he pushed on, and when the round ended, Herzog collected scorecards since three rounds were in the books. Judges handed down scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27, awarding Song a technical decision win.
“Totally accidental,” Song remarked about the eye poke. “This result is not what I wanted. Sorry, Henry. Let’s run it back.” He expressed regret to fans and vowed improvement next time around. It was an unfortunate conclusion for Song, who had been performing admirably before the incident marred everything.
For Cejudo, it’s gotta sting more than just his eye that Herzog opted against deducting a point for the foul. That could’ve turned things into a majority draw based on those scorecards. Instead? A damaged eye and a loss on his record to take home.
“I couldn’t see [out of] my left [eye],” Cejudo admitted post-fight. “My right’s OK but even that last minute when he was chasing, I didn’t know what he was throwing at me.” He acknowledged wanting to continue but recognized the risk: “If I can’t see, he’s going to hurt me.”
Will UFC book a rematch? Who knows! But Song sure looked strong before things went south. Despite some early leg kicks from Cejudo, Song controlled distance well and hammered away with punches as the fight progressed—until that ill-fated poke ended Cejudo’s night.
It’s bittersweet for Song to claim perhaps his career’s biggest win this way. Yet he’s open to another go-round with Cejudo. Before all this chaos unfolded in Seattle’s main event, Cejudo had plans for one last title run before hanging up his gloves. Now? Maybe he’ll return hoping for another shot at redemption against Song in the future.