SEATTLE — It’s been a dozen years since UFC touched down in the “Evergreen State” of Washington, but Saturday night the promotion returns with some notable names for UFC Seattle. Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo returns in the main event hoping to avoid three consecutive losses when he meets China’s Song Yadong. A 27-year-old striking dynamo, Song also looks to rebound after last fighting to a unanimous decision setback at the hands of former champion Petr Yan in March 2024.
The swan song of all-time great and former two-time UFC champion Dominick Cruz was initially set to serve as the night’s co-headliner, however Cruz’s injury and subsequent retirement led to the event’s new co-main, a rematch between middleweight contenders Brendan Allen and Anthony Hernandez.
Let’s break down the UFC Seattle main card and see who comes out on top.
Betting odds courtesy of BetMGM.
135 pounds: Henry Cejudo (+220) vs. Song Yadong (-275)
The more and more I think about Cejudo vs. Song, the more excited I am for it.
Cejudo’s placement as an all-timer is a strange discussion. At his height, I believed there was a good enough case to say he was among the five best ever to do it. The easy counter, however, is that his success came quickly and didn’t last nearly long enough.
Cejudo, 38, retired as two-division champion in May 2020 but returned three years later to lose a hard-fought split decision against then-champ Aljamain Sterling. After another decision loss to the now-champ Merab Dvalishvili, he still has yet to win at this tail-end of his decorated athletic career.
With Song, we’re looking at an absurdly experienced 27-year-old contender who still has plenty of room to grow. He’s already wildly talented for where he is after 31 professional fights. These odds seem wonky on paper, and at a glance Cejudo should walk through Song. He’s only lost to the absolute best bantamweight or flyweight had to offer at the time. But Father Time makes a fool of us all eventually.
Here’s how this fight goes: Cejudo wins the first two rounds, landing some solidly impactful strikes while clearly at a speed disadvantage, but his superior grappling game helps put him ahead.
Cejudo is going to take down Song. We’ve seen it numerous times throughout the Chinese competitor’s career. Despite that, Song has been consistent with his strong get-up ability, rarely being controlled for longer than a minute. If anyone can change that, it’s Cejudo, but at the same time his wrestling has primarily been used for control in MMA, not finishing and particularly not submissions.
Cejudo grew justifiably comfortable with his incredibly improved striking skills in the second half of his MMA career, so expect to see him to primarily seek a knockout until he gets tagged by the quicker and craftier Song, which will force his wrestling hand. But the odds got this one right. Having more rounds to work will favor Song, who finds the finish late, similar to his 2023 main event win over Ricky Simon.
Again, I still think Cejudo is highly underrated in the grand scheme of things. These two are just barreling in the most blatant of opposite directions with their careers, because that’s how time works.
Pick: Song
185 pounds: Brendan Allen (+250) vs. Anthony Hernandez (-300)
Allen vs. Hernandez 2 is a secret rematch, meaning very few fans likely even realize it’s a rematch.
Hernandez has come into his own of late, proving he’s a legitimate contender, whereas Allen was looking to be that until he ran into Nassourdine Imavov this past September.
“Scramble fest” is written all over this surefire grappling affair, and Hernandez already overcame Allen once before when they were LFA prospects on the regional scene. Since then, Hernandez has arguably improved more and remains the more imposing danger on the mats.
Neither of these guys are the cleanest of middleweight strikers, and while Allen may try to prove a point and want to beat Hernandez where he’s best, that would be a mistake. Instead, Allen would be better served utilizing his wrestling defensively and chipping away with punches on clinch exits, although that’s often easier said than done.
“Fluffy” is banging on all cylinders right now and will just be one step ahead of his old rival in their sequel.
Pick: Hernandez
135 pounds: Rob Font (+125) vs. Jean Matsumoto (-150)
Brazil’s Matsumoto has the opportunity of a lifetime after filling in on short notice against a seasoned contender like Font, however this is still a challenging spot for the undefeated 25-year-old.
Font, 37, has been easy to doubt throughout his career and that’s sometimes led to brilliant clap-back performances. Against Matsumoto on short notice, that disrespect is already palpable.
The level of competition on both men’s ledgers isn’t even comparable, with Font miles ahead on that front. He’s long been one of bantamweight’s best boxers, and this fight is primed to act as a reality check for Matsumoto — and the oddsmakers.
Matsumoto is the future. Unfortunately for him, it’s the present.
Pick: Font
145 pounds: Jean Silva (-525) vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan (+400)
Jean Silva fight weeks are the best fight weeks.
Not only is Silva one of the biggest breakout stars out of his gym, Fighting Nerds, he was also one of the best — and most violent — standouts of 2024. The man cruised into the UFC on a wave of Brazilian brutality with punishing wins over Drew Dober, Charles Jourdain and Westin Wilson.
Melsik Baghdasaryan is an excellent prospect in his own right. He really is. But a year-and-a-half-long layoff isn’t the best preparation for a collision with a beast like Silva. Baghdasaryan may have some early success holding onto Silva or striking from range, whether against the cage or with takedowns near it, but that won’t last and Silva will punish him for it at every turn.
This man is on a mission.
Pick: Silva
205 pounds: Alonzo Menifield (-250) vs. Julius Walker (+200)
Talk about a roundabout way for Alonzo Menifield to arrive on this card. Seattle and London have somewhat similar weather, so maybe it was all meant to be after Oumar Sy dropped out of Menifield’s original March 22 matchup at UFC London and Julius Walker was instead given a shot to make an impact in his promotion debut on Saturday.
Will the gamble pay off for Walker? It’s a green 25-year-old vs. a seasoned 37-year-old. If Menifield is on his game, he should having no issue putting the newcomer in his place after suffering recent losses to light heavyweight up-and-comers Carlos Ulberg and Azamat Murzakanov — two men who Walker shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath with, at least not right now.
Walker is going to look for the kill early, and if he doesn’t find it, he’s done for. This fight is simply a case of not doubting the veteran, who also had a whole camp for the bout unlike his rookie counterpart.
Pick: Menifield
Preliminary notes
Ion Cutelaba is always a madman, for better or worse. And if Ibo Aslan’s last time out is anything to go by, he doesn’t waste any time once that bell rings. That fight is rightfully the capstone of the prelims.
The fall of Ricky Simon hurts my soul as a fellow Washington native. While I’m glad he’s getting this opportunity to fight in the UFC in our home state for the first time, unfortunately for Simon, his best days appear behind him and layups don’t really exist in the perpetually-stacked bantamweight division. The Basharat brothers are for real, and Javid Basharat will be hungry to return to the win column after his first career setback. Regardless of the winner, that one should be high-intensity bell-to-bell.
Quick picks:
Ibo Aslan (-185) def. Ion Cutelaba (+150)
Melquizael Costa (-110) def. Andre Fili (-110)
Mansur Abdul-Malik (-1000) def. Nick Klein (+650)
Javid Basharat (-250) def. Ricky Simon (+200)
Nikolay Veretennikov (-140) def. Austin Vanderford (+115)
Nursulton Ruziboev (-300) def. Eric McConico (+240)
Modestas Bukauskas (-300) def. Raffael Cerqueira (+240)
