UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong

The UFC returns to Seattle, Washington for the first time since 2013 next weekend. While the card has been injury-hit, there's still a lot to look forward to. UFC Fight Night: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong features a killer bantamweight headliner, as well as several other exciting and ranked fighters.

Overall, assuming no other fights slip off this card, this event should be a good one. Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong.

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#1. UFC bantamweight bout: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong

The main event in 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?

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.

The Pick: Song via decision

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#2. UFC middleweight bout: Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez

While it isn't as good a fight as the initially planned co-headliner - more on that later - this middleweight bout is still an intriguing one.

It pits No.9-ranked Brendan Allen against No. 12-ranked Anthony Hernandez in a rematch from their pre-UFC days, with both men looking to rise into title contention with a victory. So who will take it?

Interestingly, Allen is coming off a loss, while Hernandez is coming off a win. 'All In' fell to Nassourdine Imavov back in September, while Hernandez produced a great showing to take out the surging Michel Pereira a month later.

It's hard to criticize Allen's showing against Imavov, given 'The Sniper' is on a hot streak and just took out Israel Adesanya. Unlike Adesanya, Allen did go the distance, and the fight was a razor-close one to call.

'All In' does his best work on the mat. A very dangerous grappler, he tends to look to close the distance and drag his foes down, where he uses his lanky frame to hunt for chokes.

Allen isn't the most natural striker on the feet, but he is willing and can crack. However, this willingness to exchange has landed him in trouble at times, most notably against Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis.

It is worth noting, though, that those fights happened some time ago, and Allen has tightened up his defenses since then based on what we saw against Imavov. Realistically, then, 'All In' has few true weaknesses.

Interestingly, though, his last loss before arriving in the UFC came to Hernandez. 'Fluffy' beat him for the middleweight title in the well-regarded LFA promotion in January 2018.

That fight lasted all five rounds and saw Hernandez largely outwork Allen over the distance. Allen did have some success hunting for submissions early on, but appeared to blow up, found himself in some bad positions on the ground, and was also rocked on the feet at points too.

'Fluffy' hasn't quite had the same levels of success in the octagon, though. When he won just one of his first three bouts, it looked like he'd wash out of the promotion altogether.

However, a massive upset submission win over legendary jiu-jitsu ace Rodolfo Vieira in February 2021 turned things around. Since then, he's won six in a row, finishing the likes of Edmen Shahbazyan and Roman Kopylov.

His win over Pereira, too, was hugely impressive. Pereira had quickly become one of the most feared men in the division thanks to his dangerous striking skills. 'Fluffy', though, stuck to his task, got through a tricky first round, and then destroyed the Brazilian on the mat.

The big question here, then, is whether Hernandez's bullying style will still work against an improved Allen, who has slightly more experience at this level.

Unfortunately for 'All In', this still looks like a bad match for him. He's up against a fighter who not only appears to be physically the bigger and stronger man but also one who is good enough to survive everything he can throw at him on the ground.

As Allen is also not a one-hit, concussive striker, it's honestly hard to see a path to victory for him here unless 'Fluffy' makes a silly mistake on the ground - something we haven't seen him do in a long time.

It won't be easy, then, but the pick is Hernandez.

The Pick: Hernandez via decision

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#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card

Firstly, it's worth noting that the original co-headliner for this event was a bantamweight clash between former champion Dominick Cruz and veteran contender Rob Font.

However, with Cruz's retirement announced earlier this month, the promotion is currently searching for a new opponent for Font. However, at the time of writing, this has yet to be announced, leaving his participation at this event questionable.

In a featherweight bout, Jean Silva takes on Melsik Baghdasaryan. Silva went viral last year thanks to a bizarre four-minute walkout that he claimed saw him morph into an alter-ego, 'Lord Assassin'.

However, the Brazilian is a very serious fighter. A brutally effective striker who walks his foes down to land thudding combinations, Silva has broken into the cusp of contention thanks to wins over Charles Jourdain and Drew Dober.

The question around him here should be whether he can make weight. Silva missed the 145-pound mark for his bout with Jourdain and fought Dober at 155 pounds. If he struggles, that could be a major issue.

Baghdasaryan also garnered some hype in his octagon debut back in 2021. He knocked out Collin Anglin with a violent head kick, but unfortunately, has only fought three times since, winning twice but losing once.

'The Gun' is an excellent technical striker, but the difference here could be in power. Unless Baghdasaryan lands a clean shot, then Silva is likely to walk through what he has to offer to land something much nastier.

Assuming he can make weight, then, the pick here is Silva via TKO in what could be a 'Fight of the Night' contender.

In another featherweight clash, Edson Barboza takes on Steve Garcia in a meeting of prospects against the gatekeeper.

While Barboza is past his prime now, his explosive striking remains dangerous for any opponent. His last bout saw him outpointed by Lerone Murphy, but before that, he'd impressed in wins over Sodiq Yussuf and Billy Quarantillo.

The Brazilian does have some weaknesses; his durability isn't what it once was, and from the bottom, he can struggle underneath a foe with a heavy top game. However, if he's given the distance to land his kicks, he's lethal.

Garcia, meanwhile, is 6-2 in his octagon career and is riding a five-fight win streak, with all of those wins coming via TKO. He lacks the finesse of Barboza, but he hits hard, is unafraid of walking his foe down, and is a consummate finisher.

This should come down to how much Barboza's got in the tank. If he's still got enough juice, then he's likely to catch Garcia coming forward with a nasty counter and dispatch him.

If that isn't the case, though, 'Mean Machine' could swarm him with strikes and get him out before he has a chance to move out of first gear.

It's a tricky one to call, but Barboza has now been around for 15 years and it's just hard to trust a lighter fighter who is now 39 years old. The pick, then, is Garcia via TKO.

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#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims

Picks in bold

UFC light-heavyweight bout: Ion Cutelaba vs. Ibo Aslan

UFC welterweight bout: Adam Fugitt vs. Billy Goff

UFC bantamweight bout: Ketlen Vieira vs. Macy Chiasson

UFC bantamweight bout: Ricky Simon vs. Javid Basharat

UFC middleweight bout: Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Nick Klein

UFC light-heavyweight bout: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira

UFC featherweight bout: Andre Fili vs. Melquizael Costa