Demetrious Johnson doesn't entirely agree with Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong scorecard, explains why 'No Contest' wasn't the way to go after eye poke

Demetrious Johnson shares insights on controversial Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong clash. [Images courtesy: Getty]
Demetrious Johnson shares insights on controversial Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong clash. [Images courtesy: Getty]

Demetrious Johnson weighed in on Henry Cejudo’s technical decision loss to Song Yadong at UFC Seattle and explained why a No Contest wasn’t the right call. The main event bout ended after an accidental eye poke left Cejudo unable to continue following the third round. The judges awarded Song a victory on the scorecards (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

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Johnson broke down the situation and clarified why the result stood as a legitimate decision rather than a No Contest. Johnson started his assessment by clarifying that eye pokes are inevitable in MMA due to the open-finger gloves.

Unlike boxing or Muay Thai, where fingers are covered, fighters naturally extend their hands in exchanges in an MMA contest. According to the 38-year-old, Song did not intend to foul Cejudo. That being said, he stressed that once a fighter confirms they can continue and finishes a round, the fight goes to the scorecards rather than being ruled a No Contest.

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Sharing insights on his YouTube channel, Johnson said:

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"There's no way you're going to prevent eye pokes in mixed martial arts. The reason why is because the fingers are exposed. Muay Thai, kickboxing, boxing, there [are] no eye pokes. The reason why is because their gloves and their fingers are not exposed... [Song Yadong] pokes him in the eye as he’s throwing a two to the body, and those fingers go in there like he was trying to impregnate Henry Cejudo. If Henry's eyeballs were a vag*na and Song’s fingers were a pen*s, Henry would be pregnant right now."
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He added later:

"I don’t know if I agree with the 30-27 [judges' score], but I was giving Song Yadong two rounds. I did feel Henry Cejudo was popping with that right jab, he was doing a good job, but I felt like Song Yadong was getting him a little bit more with some of the combinations and the takedown defense... Do I think the fight should've been a no contest? No, because I feel like accidents in mixed martial arts happen. I truly feel Song Yadong was not trying to eye poke Henry Cejudo."
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Check out Demetrious Johnson's comments below (6:00):

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Henry Cejudo urges Dana White to reconsider his decision about a potential rematch against Song Yadong

Henry Cejudo wants a rematch against Song Yadong following the abrupt ending of their UFC Seattle encounter. Despite winning, Yadong was disappointed and asked for a rematch.

However, UFC CEO Dana White dismissed the idea of a rematch in the post-fight press conference. The American recently responded to Dana White on an Instagram post and urged him to reconsider. He said:

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“Dana White, I heard what you said but I encourage you to reconsider... 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. Dana, I respect you I hope we can run this back with Song, and let’s do it soon… I think we should run it back."
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Check out Henry Cejudo's comments below:

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Edited by Abhishek Nambiar
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