Song Yadong, who admired Dominick Cruz and hoped to fight him, will instead face Henry Cejudo at UFC Seattle after Cruz retired due to a shoulder injury.
Song Yadong grew up idolizing Dominick Cruz, watching him rise to become one of the greatest bantamweights ever. He dreamed of facing the multi-time world champ someday. Sadly, that’s not happening now.
Instead, Song’s set to face another former champ, Henry Cejudo, headlining Saturday’s UFC Seattle card. Cruz was supposed to fight Rob Font on the same card, but a shoulder injury took him out. Then came the bombshell—Cruz announced his retirement.
Cruz and Song’s mentor Urijah Faber had quite the rivalry. Song, despite being just 27, held immense respect for Cruz and wished to share the octagon with him someday.
“I always wanted to fight Dominick Cruz,” Song shared with MMA Fighting. “When I was younger, I watched his fights all the time. Loved it! His style was something else. But man, I feel so bad he retired.”
Injuries plagued Cruz throughout his career, yet he achieved greatness as a two-time UFC bantamweight champ. Remember when he beat T.J. Dillashaw in January 2016 at UFC Fight Night 81? Regained the title right there! Defended it against Faber at UFC 199 before losing to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207 that December.
At 39, after another long hiatus, Cruz aimed for the belt again but fell short against Cejudo at UFC 249 in May 2020. “The Dominator” managed two wins in his last three fights but ended with a tough head-kick KO loss to Marlon Vera at UFC San Diego in August 2022.
Throughout his career, Cruz headlined many high-stakes events with massive crowds. Now, it’s Song’s turn under the spotlight. He’s thrilled to headline against a former two-division champ in front of a live audience.
“Yeah, this is a real main event for me with [a] crowd,” Song said excitedly. “I had [other main events] but they were all at the APEX without a crowd.”