UFC Seattle Main Event Prediction: Sidekick Picks
UFC Seattle will see the return of one of the greatest fighters of all time in the form of former flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo. Unfortunately, there’s also the chance that, in the future ‘Triple C’ will look back on what might’ve been with regret, particularly if he loses next weekend.
So can Cejudo pull off the comeback that he’s promising? Or will he fall for the third time in a row, this time to up-and-comer Song Yadong?
UFC Seattle: Cejudo vs Song prediction
To be fair to Yadong, ‘The Kung Fu Kid’ should probably be considered more than just a prospect at this stage. Ranked at No.8 in the bantamweight division, he’s a very dangerous contender who’s knocked off several top fighters in his own right.
However, there’s a big difference between beating a washed Marlon Moraes or a fringe contender like Ricky Simon and beating Cejudo. Song will undoubtedly need to step his game up here to win, and that’s what makes this one so interesting.
Essentially, either ‘Triple C’ will return to form and begin what could be a stirring comeback, or Song will claim his biggest scalp to date. So which will it be? Were this Cejudo in his prime, he’d probably be an easy pick here. While Song is a hard hitter and he’s very quick – probably one of the fastest fighters in the 135-pound division in fact – he has lost to his better opponents.
More to the point, he often relies on his speed to land takedowns on his opponents, and that isn’t likely to fly against an Olympic gold medallist. However, Cejudo arguably hasn’t been at his best for a long time now. It could be argued that the last time we saw the real ‘Triple C’ was back in 2020 when he knocked out Dominick Cruz.
At that point, Cejudo felt like a force of nature. He was capable of using his takedowns to ground and smash his foes, but his striking had also developed brilliantly to the point where he was more than capable of taking people out on the feet too. Had he not decided to step away from the UFC following that Cruz fight it’s hard to imagine quite how good his title reign could’ve been.
As it was, though, he spent three years on the shelf and has only fought twice since, losing to both Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili.
While there’s nothing wrong with losing to either of those fighters, he looked, well, old in both fights. He was comfortably outstruck by Sterling and gave up takedowns, and got physically dominated by Dvalishvili.
Song is not as good as either man, but equally, another year has gone by and Cejudo is 38 years old now. It’s nearly twenty years since he won his Olympic gold medal and it’s nearly five years since his last UFC win. How much he has left in the tank is hard to say.
Overall, then, the chances are that barring a near-miracle, Song will take this fight. His hands will probably be a little too quick and sharp for Cejudo, and while ‘Triple C’ might take him down, it’s unlikely he’ll keep him there. Quite how much he’ll have over five rounds is also hard to say. Cejudo is double-tough, meaning a finish here is unlikely, but the pick is Song for UFC Seattle.
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