Henry Cejudo is dealing with significant frustration following his controversial loss to Song Yadong at UFC Fight Night Seattle.
While Cejudo felt he was gaining momentum, a severe eye poke in the third round forced the fight to end abruptly. Unable to continue, the former two-division lost via technical decision as the judges’ scorecards determined the outcome.
"Triple C" has had an issue with referee Jason Herzog’s handling of the situation, believing Song was not properly penalized for the eye poke. He also pointed out that after the fight resumed, the Chinese standout immediately extended his fingers toward Cejudo’s face again, suggesting a pattern of unsafe striking.
Initially, Cejudo pushed for a rematch, but UFC CEO Dana White quickly dismissed the idea. With that door closed, the 38-year-old has now set his sights on a different opponent — a fellow former UFC champion.
With a rematch against Song Yadong off the table, Cejudo is now targeting Petr Yan, believing it’s the best next step.
Petr Yan, man," Cejudo said on a recent episode of his Pound 4 Pound podcast. "Obviously, Kamaru [Usman], I would love to run it back if Dana… you know, obviously this is Dana’s decision. I know when he says certain sht, like he lays on it. But if we can’t run it back with Song—because I don’t feel like I lost to him—I really don’t, bro.
Cejudo made it clear that while he accepted his previous defeats to Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili, he doesn’t feel the same way about his loss to Song.
OK, I lost to Aljamain, I lost to fcking Merab, my last two fights. I don’t feel like that with this dude. If we can run it back and do a five-rounder — we could do it at the Apex, we could do it for free, dude. At this point, it’s just about competing and really showing the competitive spirit in me. But if we can’t get Song, I would love to fight Petr Yan, dude. Petr Yan’s looking to fight in May. If the UFC is willing to give me that, I’ll take it.
Kamaru Usman appeared resistant to the callout, suggesting that Yan remains a prime contender for a future title opportunity. Usman implied that a fight against "Triple C" could be a high-risk, low-reward situation for Yan, potentially jeopardizing his own title aspirations.
Cejudo, however, argued that with the bantamweight title picture focused on Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili, Yan would be left waiting if he didn’t take another fight.
They’re talking about [Sean] O’Malley and homeboy [Dvalishvili]," Cejudo replied. "What’s he going to do? Sit out for a fcking year? Petr wants to fight in May, bro.
Cejudo even addressed Yan in Russian to further push the fight, directly challenging him.
Let’s go, dude," Cejudo continued. "I’m here. I’ll be good by May. As soon as my eye clears up, which should be within days — and I’m still seeing double, Kamaru. As soon as it clears, I want to get back to the gym and just scrap, dude. I want to fight, dude. That’s all there is to it.
With Cejudo eager to return and Yan looking for an opponent, a May matchup between the two former champions could make sense — if the UFC is willing to book it.