Song Yadong Triumphs Over Henry Cejudo at UFC Seattle
Song Yadong defeated Henry Cejudo by technical decision in the main event at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on February 22, 2025. The scheduled five-round bout stopped after three rounds when an accidental foul left Cejudo unable to continue. Song was ahead on all three scorecards: 29–28, 29–28 and 30–27. The official judges’ scorecards record the technical decision and the judges’ totals.
An accidental foul stopped the main event
The bout was scheduled for five rounds, but it did not reach the fourth. After an accidental eye poke in Round 3 left Cejudo unable to continue, referee Jason Herzog halted the contest at the end of the round. With three rounds complete, the result went to the judges under the technical-decision rules. The official event recap describes the stoppage as the result of an unintentional foul and lists Song as the winner by technical decision.
The official method is technical decision. All three judges favored Song on the completed rounds: two scored the bout 29–28, and one scored it 30–27. The event was scheduled for five rounds, but the foul stoppage meant the judges scored only the three completed rounds.
Song faced a former two-division champion
Cejudo entered the Seattle main event as a former flyweight and bantamweight champion returning after a three-year break. In his first bout back, he lost a split decision to Aljamain Sterling in May 2023. He then lost a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili in February 2024. Song was Cejudo’s third opponent since his return and handed him a third consecutive loss; those earlier results appear in the May 2023 scorecards and February 2024 scorecards. Song’s most recent fight before Seattle was a unanimous-decision loss to Petr Yan in March 2024, recorded in the official scorecards. The matchup therefore paired a fighter returning from a loss with a veteran trying to reverse a two-fight skid.
The official event report lists Song’s technical decision and scorecards alongside the rest of the Seattle results. The embedded Octagon interview above is Song’s post-fight conversation with Michael Bisping on the verified official channel, capturing Song immediately after the unusual ending.
Cejudo’s final appearance
The result counts as a win for Song and a loss for Cejudo, with the official method recorded as a technical decision. Cejudo later returned for his final professional appearance against Payton Talbott on December 6, 2025. Talbott won by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 30–27. The official December 2025 scorecards record the result, and the official preview identified it as Cejudo’s final fight. That later outcome is useful context when looking back at the Seattle bout: Song’s technical decision was Cejudo’s third straight loss after his return from retirement, followed by his final contest before he left competition.
That sequence gives the Seattle result a clear place in both fighters’ records. Song added a win over a former two-division champion, while Cejudo’s comeback ended with four consecutive losses: Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, Song Yadong and Payton Talbott. The unusual finish can be misreported as an ordinary points decision or a no contest, but the official record resolves the distinction: an accidental foul ended the bout after three completed rounds, and the judges’ technical decision was final. The embedded interview captures Song’s immediate reaction after the ruling.
