Two facts became abundantly clear in the immediate aftermath Saturday of Song Yadong’s technical decision victory over ex-champion Henry Cejudo in the bantamweight main event of UFC Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena.
Cejudo got worked over by referee Jason Herzog, who didn’t take a point from Yadong in the third round after he fouled Cejudo for a third time. Yadong kicked Cejudo low and later flagrantly poked him in the eyes.
As Yadong attempted to throw a left hand late in the third, his fingers were open and he poked Cejudo in both eyes. The left eye was the one that absorbed most of the damage, and Cejudo said he was blinded.
Cejudo took the full five minutes allotted for recovery.
When the action resumed, there was 1:16 left in the third round. Cejudo was desperate because he was unable to see anything coming from Yadong’s right. He basically sprinted around the Octagon to try to get out of the round to buy more time to recover.
Because Cejudo repeatedly said in the corner he couldn’t see, Herzog stopped the fight and the fight went to the cards.
Cejudo didn’t argue to continue, but a DQ wasn’t in order since the foul wasn’t intentional.Herzog could have taken a point but he didn’t have the option to disqualify Yadong.
The only option was to go to the cards and Yadong won a unanimous technical decision by scores of 29-28 twice and 30-27.
A point deduction for such a flagrant foul would have spared Cejudo his third consecutive loss. He had the ability to do so but chose not to and so Yadong walked away with a technical decision victory that didn’t sit well with anyone.
“That’s not what I wanted. I’m sorry,” Yadong said. “He’s a legend and we should run it back.”Cejudo said he was down for that and when someone noted he was 38 years old, he showed he hadn’t lost his sense of humor.
“Thirty-eight years young,” Cejudo corrected.
Despite the way it ended, Cejudo didn’t look anything like the guy who won UFC titles at flyweight and bantamweight and was successful enough to call himself the greatest combat sports athlete of all-time.
He wasn’t getting worked over, and against a lesser opponent than a quick and athletic 27-year-old, he might have been in command.
He was a step slow and as a result, he wasn’t able to get in on Yadong to use his wrestling. More often than not, Yadong beat Cejudo to the punch.
Cejudo’s best round was the third, at least up until the point he was poked.
But he was 0 for 3 in takedown attempts and nearly was really close to getting one. Had he been able to get it to the ground, the fight would have taken a different tenor. Cejudo has a massive advantage in grappling.
But as in his first two bouts after ending his two-plus-year retirement, Cejudo was a half-step slow. At the highest level, that’s a massive amount.
He was ranked seventh in the bantamweight division despite not having won since he finished Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in a title fight in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 9, 2020.
The loss likely drops him out of the Top 10. He has no realistic path to the championship at this point, given that it seems logical he’d need at least three successive wins to position himself for a shot.
Some legends in other sports have stayed around far too long and they struggled so much at the end, it was hard not to feel sorry for them.
Cejudo is certainly not at that point, but he’s an Olympic gold medalist, a highly decorated amateur wrestler and among the greatest MMA fighter of all-time.
It’s sad to think he’d come back to fight young guys trying to build a reputation off of his name.
He’s got a huge decision to make and he seemed to be leaning toward taking Yadong up on his offer of a rematch.
Time, though, is not on his side. In life, he’s a young man with a lot to look forward to in his future. In fighting, he’s a grizzled veteran desperately trying to remain relevant.
It’s never an easy decision to walk away from something you’ve not only done your entire life, but also have done better than just about anyone to ever do it.
Father Time hasn’t lost yet and it doesn’t look like he will any time soon.