Henry Cejudo is not staying quiet after his controversial loss at UFC Seattle. The former two-division champion took to social media to defend himself against criticism and to push for a rematch with Song Yadong after their main event clash ended in a technical decision.
Cejudo, still searching for his first win since coming out of retirement in 2023, suffered his third straight defeat in an unusual fashion. A deep eye poke in the third round left him unable to continue, leading to the scorecards, which favored Yadong. While the referee ruled the foul accidental, some fans and fighters have questioned whether Cejudo was looking for a way out.
The Olympic gold medalist fired back at those accusations, sharing details about the injuries he sustained from the poke. According to Cejudo, he has been diagnosed with diplopia, soft tissue damage, and a corneal abrasion.
Dana White is NOT down with a Song Yadong vs. Henry Cejudo rematch after #UFCSeattle and won’t comment on Cejudo’s behavior before it was waved off. pic.twitter.com/FYHUnOPaHX
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 23, 2025
Cejudo Calls Out Dana White Over Rematch Denial
Both fighters had expressed interest in a rematch, but UFC CEO Dana White quickly dismissed the idea during the post-fight press conference. That did not sit well with Cejudo, who took to Instagram to make his case.
“Dana White, I heard what you said but I encourage you to reconsider,” Cejudo stated on Instagram. “I will say this, Dana White I know you said you’re not interested in the rematch, let’s run it back. There were still two rounds left, dude, the pace was picking up, he was hurt, I was hurt, dude, and we were scrapping. I think we should run it back.”
Diplopia, Soft Tissue Damage, Corneal Abrasion.
“hE wANteD a wAy OuT” #UFCSeattle pic.twitter.com/SYG48fmb3M
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 23, 2025
Cejudo made it clear that he respects White but strongly believes the fight deserved a different outcome. “Dana, I respect you. I hope we can run this back with Song, and let us do it soon.”
Questions Over Referee Decisions
Another talking point from the fight was how referee Jason Herzog handled the situation. The eye poke occurred near the end of the third round, but Herzog allowed the fourth round to start before stopping the fight. Had he not done so, the result could have been ruled a no contest or even a disqualification.
Cejudo questioned why no point was deducted for multiple fouls.
“Should there have been a point deducted? 100 percent, man,” he said. “It is not Song’s fault. I am not pissed at him, but I will say for Jason Herzog, I am curious to talk to you, man. I got kicked in the balls a couple of times and then eye poked, like, bro, something has to be done.”
While Yadong has moved on and set his sights on a higher-ranked opponent, Cejudo is not letting this one go just yet. Whether White changes his stance remains to be seen, but Cejudo has made it clear he wants that rematch.
