UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Song Preview
Song Yadong fires a head kick at Ricky Simón. Credit: Zuffa LLC.
The UFC hits Seattle, Washington, this Saturday with an outstanding Fight Night card. Filled with exciting matchups throughout, this card will surely deliver plenty of highlights. In the co-main event, we’ll see two top-fifteen Middleweights on the rise go toe to toe when Brendan Allen takes on Anthony Hernandez. In the main event, former champion Henry Cejudo will look to right the ship against the always-dangerous Song Yadong. Let’s take a look at the fights on the main card.
Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker
Alonzo Menifield fires a right hand at Vinicius Moreira. Credit: MMA Mania.
Light Heavyweight Bout
Alonzo Menifield: 15-5-1, 10 KO/TKO, 3 Sub.
Julius Walker: 6-0-0, 4 KO/TKO, 2 Sub.
Menifield has won two of his last five fights with one draw and has UFC victories over Dustin Jacoby (20-9-1), Jimmy Crute (12-4-2), and Paul Craig (17-9-1). He is an explosive striker with serious power in both hands and constantly pursues a finish. He throws constant looping shots and overhands and can do damage from anywhere. Menifield has excellent leg kicks and can land damage even when moving backward, making him always dangerous. Training at Saekson Muay Thai, he’s unlikely to initiate grappling exchanges but can land devastating ground and pound if he secures top position. Of his thirteen finishes, he’s scored ten in the first round and always comes out guns blazing. Menifield is at his most dangerous early on, often fading as the fight continues, and has never scored a third-round finish.
Julius Walker squares off with Bevon Lewis. Credit: Synergy FC.
Walker is undefeated and making his UFC debut. He’s a heavy-handed scrapper with great wrestling abilities. He has a solid chin and is willing to exchange inside the pocket, regularly coming forward to unload heavy, wide hooks. However, Walker is most comfortable on the mat and constantly looks to clinch up and pursue takedowns or throws. Training with Team Fusion, he transitions fluidly from position to position and has solid scrambles and reversals, typically finding himself in top position. He’s constantly working in top position, regularly looking to posture and land ground and pound or find an opening for a submission. Walker has earned three of six finish victories in under two minutes and pushes a heavy pace from the opening bell.
Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
Jean Silva blasts Drew Dober with a cracking left hand. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Featherweight Bout
Jean Silva: 14-2-0, 11 KO/TKO, 2 Sub.
Melsik Baghdasaryan: 8-2-0, 5 KO/TKO, 0 Sub.
Silva is on an eleven-fight win streak and has UFC victories over Westin Wilson (17-9-0), Charles Jourdain (15-8-1), and Drew Dober (27-14-0). He’s a flashy striker with power in both hands who constantly hunts for a knockout. He starts slow, looking for openings and throwing heavy, single shots. Silva can get wild on the feet, fighting with his hands low, talking trash, and attempting spinning and jumping attacks. Training with Fighting Nerds, he heats up as the fight continues, gradually increasing his forward pressure and output. His best shots are his right straight and lead hook, and he’ll constantly look to set up either. Silva finished eight of his eleven consecutive wins in the first round but is dangerous anytime, anywhere.
Melsik Baghdasaryan fires a kick to the body of Tucker Lutz. Credit: MMA Mania.
Baghdasaryan has won four of his last five bouts and has UFC victories over Tucker Lutz (12-4-0), Collin Anglin (9-5-0) and Bruno Souza (12-3-0). He is a former professional kickboxer with a record of 9-2 and challenged for a K-1 World Title before coming to MMA. Unsurprisingly, he’s an excellent striker with serious power in his punches and kicks. Baghdasaryan always comes forward and never telegraphs his shots, constantly varying his attacks and going to the head and body evenly. Training at Glendale Fighting Club, what he lacks in volume, he makes up for in power, although he does usually supply his opponent with a healthy dose of leg kicks. He has not attempted a takedown in the UFC and is most comfortable on his feet, but he has shown solid takedown defense. Baghdasaryan is highly defensively sound, rarely absorbs much damage, and has outlanded all his UFC opponents.
#9 (BW) Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto
Rob Font batters Cody Garbrandt with a straight right hand. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Catch Weight Bout (140 lbs.)
Rob Font: 21-8-0, 9 KO/TKO, 4 Sub.
Jean Matsumoto: 16-0-0, 3 KO/TKO, 6 Sub.
Font has won two of his last five outings and has UFC victories over #12 ranked Bantamweight Kyler Phillips (12-3-0), Adrian Yañez (17-6-0), and Ricky Simón (20-6-0). He is a hands-first fighter, preferring to do damage with his crisp boxing skills. Training with New England Cartel, he always fights behind his jab, has excellent footwork, and does a great job cutting off the cage. Font throws everything in combination and has fantastic output, averaging about 78 significant strikes landed in his last five wins. He also has excellent hand speed and solid power, tending to heat up and increase his pace as the fight continues. He’s willing to grapple, and averages just under one takedown landed per fifteen minutes, but is at his best when he’s holding the center of the cage and dictating the pace of the fight. Font never gets too wild or telegraphs his shots, constantly moving and looking for different angles to attack.
Jean Matsumoto fires a powerful kick at the head of Brad Katona. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Matsumoto is undefeated and has UFC victories over Brad Katona (16-4-0) and Dan Argueta (9-3-0). He’s a dangerous, well-rounded fighter with impressive power in his hands and a black belt in BJJ. He throws everything with power and in combination but won’t get sloppy, keeping his shots straight and tight. Matsumoto regularly switches stances on the feet and has excellent kicks, constantly mixing them into punch combinations. He’s averaging over one takedown landed per fifteen minutes in the UFC and can find submissions with incredible speed, particularly chokes. Although technical, he’s willing to throw down in the pocket, regularly standing in front of his opponent and unloading hooks and straights. He has excellent cardio and pushes a consistent pace throughout, having already gone five rounds three times in his pre-UFC career.
#9 Brendan Allen vs. #12 Anthony Hernandez
Brendan Allen exchanges blows with Chris Curtis. Credit: Ag. Fight.
Middleweight Bout
Brendan Allen: 24-6-0, 5 KO/TKO, 14 Sub.
Anthony Hernandez: 13-2-0, 3 KO/TKO, 8 Sub.
Allen has won four of his last five fights and has UFC victories over Chris Curtis (31-12-0), Paul Craig (17-9-1), and Andre Muniz (24-6-0). He’s an excellent grappler with a lethal submission game and solid power in his hands. He’s always dangerous, whether on top or his back, constantly attempting submissions and looking to finish the fight. Training at Kill Cliff FC, he’ll throw heavy ground and pound in top position to open submission opportunities, typically pursuing chokes. He has solid striking to back up his grappling and has decent hands and kicks, using more of a boxing style when he’s on the feet. Although he pushes a heavy pace, he has solid cardio and can comfortably go five rounds. Allen has secured eleven of his fourteen submissions via rear naked choke and is deadly if he can find his opponent’s neck.
Anthony Hernandez applies a rear naked choke to Roman Kopylov. Credit: MMA Mania.
Hernandez is on a six-fight win streak and has UFC victories over #13 ranked Middleweight Michel Pereira (31-12-0), #14 ranked Middleweight Roman Kopylov (14-3-0), and JunYong Park (18-6-0). He’s a relentless grappler who’s always working for a finish and gets better as the fight goes on. He throws in combination on the feet and will use his striking to get into the pocket to either pursue a takedown or damage his opponent in the clinch. Hernandez is extremely durable, able to take a beating and still push a consistent pace, and often finds submissions out of seemingly nowhere. Training with MMAGold Fight Team, he has smothering clinch and top control, great takedowns, and extremely dangerous chokes, especially his guillotine. Five of his eight career submission wins are via guillotine, and he often performs his own modified version of the choke. Hernandez is very fluid on the ground and consistently finds a way to get to a safe position, always choosing position over submission.
#7 Henry Cejudo vs. #8 Song Yadong
Henry Cejudo engages with Merab Dvalishvili inside the pocket. Credit: Los Angeles Times.
Bantamweight Bout
Henry Cejudo: 16-4-0, 8 KO/TKO, 0 Sub.
Song Yadong: 21-8-1, 9 KO/TKO, 3 Sub.
Cejudo has won three of his last five bouts and has UFC victories over former Bantamweight champions TJ Dillashaw (18-5-0) and Dominick Cruz (24-4-0) and former Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson (25-4-1). One of the most accomplished athletes in MMA, he’s a former UFC double champion (FLW & BW) and former Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling. Unsurprisingly, he’s an excellent grappler, averaging about two takedowns landed per fifteen minutes and possessing smothering top control. Training at Fight Ready, Cejudo has fantastic takedowns and scrambles, seemingly always finding a way to top position. He uses a karate-like style on the feet, holding a wide stance, constantly moving and mixing kicks into combinations. All his attacks are lightning-fast, often using his striking to get into the pocket and grapple. Cejudo has excellent takedown defense, having defended 75% of takedowns attempted on him in the UFC, and is highly fluid on the ground and in the clinch.
Song Yadong prepares to unload vicious ground and pound onto Ricky Simón. Credit: MMA Fighting.
Yadong has won three of his last five outings and has UFC victories over #6 ranked Bantamweight Marlon Vera (23-10-1), Ricky Simón (20-6-0), and Chris Gutiérrez (21-6-2). He’s an excellent technical striker who’s constantly pressuring forward and throwing every shot with knockout intentions. He has significant power in both hands, throws everything in combination, and remains technical throughout the fight, usually fighting behind his jab. Training at Team Alpha Male, Yadong varies his shots well, attacking the head and body evenly and remaining technical at all times. He’s powerful in the clinch and won’t typically pursue takedowns, but he has defended 72% of takedowns attempted on him in the UFC. He’s always willing to eat a shot to land one, regularly marching through punches to close the distance and throw offense of his own. Yadong has be awarded post-fight bonuses in nearly half his fights in the promotion and always leaves it all in the cage.
Best Bets
Jean Matsumoto Moneyline: A classic matchup of rising star and established veteran; I’m looking forward to this fight. Both are highly dangerous strikers with knockout victories on their records, and both push a heavy pace. Ultimately, I think the difference maker in this fight is Matsumoto’s grappling skills. Font has sometimes struggled with his takedown defense, having successfully defended only 44% of takedowns attempted on him in the UFC. Font has also recently struggled in high-paced bouts, which massively benefits Matsumoto’s style. Matsumoto is constantly coming forward and looking to either score a takedown or do severe damage with his hands, and while Font can strike with him, I think the pace will wear him down over the course of the fight. I expect Matsumoto to regularly mix in takedown attempts, land clean shots on the feet, and continue his winning ways in the UFC.
Anthony Hernandez by Decision: One of the closest matchups on the card regarding pure ability, this is an outstanding fight. Although they don’t have identical styles, both have similar skills, with a lethal submission game and dangerous striking. Allen is the more technical of the two, using clean boxing and BJJ to get the job done. Hernandez, on the other hand, has more of a ‘blood and guts’ style, always willing to eat a shot to land one while pushing a heavy pace. Honestly, both of these fighters rose up the ranks at the same time, and I’m surprised this matchup wasn’t made before now. Although I think they’re close in terms of skill, it’s my opinion that Hernandez has fought the tougher competition in the UFC so far. Not that Allen hasn’t faced any adversity, but Hernandez has had to survive in deep waters numerous times and still came out the victor, constantly finding himself in grueling battles. I think Hernandez will push a heavy pace from the opening bell, stay in Allen’s face the entire time, and ultimately walk away with another win.
Song Yadong Moneyline: This is an outstanding fight to cap off a very solid Fight Night card. Easily two of the most exciting fighters in the Bantamweight division, there’s sure to be plenty of highlights created by this matchup. Although this is a classic striker vs. grappler matchup on paper, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Neither man is simply a grappler nor a striker: Cejudo has a very unorthodox, karate-like striking style, while Yadong has proved to be an outstanding wrestler in his own right, both offensive and defensive. Both offer a very unique puzzle for any opponent, so it’ll be fascinating to see how their respective gameplans playout on Saturday night. Since returning from retirement in 2023, Cejuo has struggled significantly when unable to work his wrestling offense, consistently getting pieced up on the feet in his last two outings. Yadong has had outstanding takedown defense in the UFC, and if he can force Cejudo onto his back foot and keep the fight standing, it’ll be a long night for Triple C. I expect Yadong to consistently deny Cejudo’s takedowns, land the cleaner strikes on the feet, and become the third consecutive fighter to defeat Cejudo.
