Yadong Beats Cejudo After Controversial Eye Poke; Pros React
Song Yadong secured a win over Henry Cejudo at UFC Seattle in controversial circumstances, as MMA pros gave their reaction.
Yadong poked Cejudo in the eye in the third round, which meant he struggled to see from his left eye. Two fingers went in the eye, but the referee did not enforce any action. The bout continued until the end of the third. Cejudo told his corner that his vision was hampered. The doctor examined the situation, and the fight was then over. Looking back at the incident, if Cejudo did not continue fighting after the initial poke, the fight could have been stopped. It would have most likely been declared a no-contest.
The decision to close the round and continue meant Yadong got the win. At the time of the stoppage, the cards were 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 as Yadong got a technical decision. Had the referee deducted a point for the foul, the scorecards would have had it a majority draw. Prior to the stoppage, Yadong was doing well. He connected with some strong leg kicks, as well as punches. He was controlling the range, keeping his man on the back foot. But ultimately, that was immaterial. Yadong did have regrets about how things played out.
Reaction
“That was totally an accident. I’m not so happy with that. It is what it is. I feel bad. I feel bad for Henry. [And] I saw that (would’ve been) a no contest (if he had stopped when the foul occurred). That’s why I feel so bad.My goal is the world champion, so whatever UFC gives me, I want to fight the guys who are ranked above me. If not Henry, give me (Sean) O’Malley. I can fight any time,” Song said
“That was totally accidental. This result is not what I wanted. I’m so sorry, Henry. I think we should run it back. We will fight again. Sorry fans. [And] I learned a lot from this fight. I will do better next time in a rematch,” Song added
“[And] I couldn’t see [out of] my left [eye]. My right’s OK but even that last minute when he was chasing, I didn’t know what he was throwing at me. I can’t see from the left. “I wanted to continue. If I can’t see, he’s going to hurt me. OF course, we can run it back 100 percent. F*ck, that finger went in my eye pretty good,” Cejudo stated
Full Card
Song Yadong wins against Henry Cejudo by technical decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
Anthony Hernandez wins against Brendan Allen by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Rob Font wins against Jean Matsumoto by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Jean Silva wins against Melsik Baghdasaryan by TKO (strikes) at 4:15 of Round 1.
Alonzo Menifield wins against Julius Walker by split decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29).
Ion Cutelaba wins against Ibo Aslan by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:51 of Round 1.
Melquizael Costa wins against Andre Fili by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:30 of Round 1.
Mansur Abdul-Malik wins against Nick Klein by TKO (strikes) at 3:24 of Round 2.
Ricky Simón wins against Javid Basharat by KO (right hand) at 3:15 of Round 1.
Austin Vanderford wins against Nikolay Veretennikov by TKO (strikes) at 4:13 of Round 2.
Nursulton Ruziboev wins against Eric McConico by TKO (strikes) at 0:33 of Round 2.
Modestas Bukauskas wins against Raffael Cerqueira by KO (strikes) at 2:12 of Round 1.
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