Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong face off in a bantamweight fight in the main event of UFC Seattle. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Uncrowned has UFC Seattle results, live round-by-round updates, start time and highlights for the Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong fight card on Saturday at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Former two-division champion Cejudo continues his pursuit of his first post-comeback win when he takes on Chinese contender Yadong in the night’s five-round bantamweight main event.
Cejudo (16-4) has lost back-to-back bouts since returning in 2023 from a three-year retirement, dropping a split decision to then-champ Aljamain Sterling in a failed shot to reclaim the UFC bantamweight belt then losing a unanimous decision to now-champ Merab Dvalishvili. A 38-year-old Olympic gold medalist wrestler, Cejudo announced his surprise retirement in 2020 following a successful bantamweight title defense against Dominick Cruz. He is also a former UFC flyweight champion.
“If I had the money, I probably would never have come back,” Cejudo said. “Quite honestly, if I had Khabib [Nurmagomedov] money, s***, I’d retire too.”
Song (21-8-1, 1 NC) competes in his fifth UFC Fight Night main event in search of a win after falling short in a unanimous decision against former champion Petr Yan this past March. A 27-year-old product of Team Alpha Male, Song owns notable UFC victories over Marlon “Chito” Vera, Marlon Moraes, Ricky Simón and Chris Gutiérrez.
In the night’s co-main event, middleweight dark horses Brendan Allen and Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez compete in a rematch of a 2018 bout, which took place on MMA’s regional scene and was won by Hernandez via unanimous decision.
UFC Seattle’s preliminary card starts at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+, while the main card kicks off at 9 p.m. ET.
Follow along with Uncrowned’s live UFC Seattle results and live blog for Saturday’s main card below.
Main Card (9 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Bantamweight: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong
Middleweight: Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez
140-pound catchweight: Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto
Featherweight: Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
Light heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker
Preliminary Card (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Light heavyweight: Ion Cutelaba vs. Ibo Aslan
Featherweight: Melquizael Costa def. Andre Fili via first-round submission (guillotine) at 4:30 | Watch finish
Middleweight: Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Nick Klein via second-round TKO (punches) at 3:24 | Watch finish
Bantamweight: Ricky Simon def. Javid Basharat via first-round knockout (punch) at 3:15 | Watch finish
175-pound catchweight: Austin Vanderford def. Nikolay Veretennikov via second-round TKO (punches) at 4:13 | Watch finish
Middleweight: Nursulton Ruziboev def. Eric McConico via second-round TKO (punches) at 0:33 | Watch finish
Light heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas def. Raffael Cerqueira via first-round knockout (punches) at 2:12 | Watch finish
Live26 updates
Prediction: Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker
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 with whom Walker shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath, 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
Main card next
Deciding bonuses isn’t going to be easy come the night’s end. UFC Seattle stays at light heavyweight for the opening fight when Alonzo Menified welcomes Julius Walker to the Octagon.
Cutelaba def. Aslan
Light heavyweight: Ion Cutelaba def. Ibo Aslan via first-round submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:51.
Well, the prelims were perfect. What night of action it’s been so far.
The last prelim
The light heavyweight gets back-to-back features with the next two bouts. First, we should get another fast and furious affair between Ion Cutelaba and Ibo Aslan.
Costa def. Fili
Featherweight: Melquizael Costa def. Andre Fili via first-round submission (guillotine) at 4:30
And now a submission! It’s something in the rain, I’m tellin’ ya.
First of two featherweight fights in Seattle
Up next the always-entertaining veteran Andre Fili will take on Melquizael Costa. May the violence continue.
Abduk-Malik def. Klein
Middleweight: Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Nick Klein via second-round TKO (punches) at 3:24.
This card is getting out of hand, folks. Every fight is madness.
Another finish?
Can the finish streak continue? I sure hope so. The middleweights get after it once again. It’s Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Nick Klein.
Simon def. Basharat
Bantamweight: Ricky Simon def. Javid Basharat via first-round knockout (punch) at 3:15
OK, Seattle. CALM DOWN. Good luck to everyone in topping that.
Up next
Another Washington native returns to action, as Ricky Simon collides with Javid Basharat in a bantamweight affair.
Vanderford def. Veretennikov
Catchweight (175 pounds): Austin Vanderford def. Nikolay Veretennikov via second-round TKO (punches) at 4:13
There was a little bit of extra action after that one. Wild scenes out here.
“Mr. VanZant” has arrived
Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Austin Vanderford will be a rare UFC catchweight bout at 175 pounds. The fight will be the UFC debut of Vanderford — the husband of UFC veteran Paige VanZant. He appeared destined for the promotion years ago when on Contender Series, but instead enjoyed a stint with Bellator before this opportunity arose. On the other hand, Veretnnikov seeks a rebound win after falling short in his debut last August.
Ruziboev def. McConico
Middleweight: Nursulton Ruziboev def. Eric McConico via second-round TKO (punches) at 0:33
