Henry Cejudo has told Dana White to ‘reconsider’ his stance on a potential rematch following UFC Seattle.
Cejudo headlined UFC Seattle on Saturday night with the hope of getting his name back into title contention.
His fight with Song Yadong was shaping up to be a great showing, until an abrupt ending prompted an echo of boos from the Seattle crowd at Climate Pledge Arena.
Song accidentally poked Cejudo in the eye in the third round which led to the latter telling his corner that he could not see.
Following a doctor’s examination, referee Jason Herzog waved off the fight, meaning the bout went to the scorecards as more than half the fight was completed.
All three judges scored the fight in favour of Song, who claimed a unanimous decision victory and put Cejudo’s hopes of a future title shot into deep jeopardy.
After the fight, UFC President White told the media that he wasn’t ‘even a little bit’ interested in a rematch between the pair, as ‘I just don’t want to see it again’.
Former two-division champion and Olympic gold medallist Cejudo has since responded to his boss.
“Thank you to all of my fans and all of my haters,” he wrote on Instagram.
“Well that’s not how I wanted the night to end for the fans, for Song, and definitely not for myself.
“We need to run this fight back asap! Dana White I heard what you said but I encourage you to reconsider.
“All respect to Song, you are a warrior…but you did not win this fight and I did not lose.
“We have unfinished business and I know that you agree. Run. It. Back.”
Several MMA fans believed Cejudo ‘gave up’ and ‘wanted a way out’ during his fight with Song, but the UFC star put to bed these comments when revealing details of his injury.
Cejudo took to X in the aftermath of the fight and announced that he suffered diplopia (double vision), soft tissue damage and corner abrasion (small scratch to the cornea).
Regardless of his injuries, UFC legend Demetrious Johnson believes his former rival Cejudo should take a step back from fighting to prioritise his future health.
“Now he’s on a three-fight losing streak, what is he doing next?” Johnson said on his YouTube channel.
Johnson’s last fight in the UFC was a split decision defeat to Cejudo, who held the flyweight belt for a further two years.
“I don’t see the point of it…” Johnson added. “The likelihood of Henry Cejudo getting opportunities to keep on fighting number one contenders over and over again, I just don’t see it happening.
“I’m not saying that it can’t, but I don’t see it happening…man almost went blind…
“He’s got a great podcast with Kamaru Usman, two beautiful children, [a] beautiful wife, businesses, there’s no reason to fight and keep risking his health.”
Cejudo has now lost three consecutive fights for the first time in his professional MMA career.
‘Triple C’ lost a bantamweight title fight to Aljamain Sterling in May 2023, before falling to Merab Dvalishvili and now Song.
Elsewhere at the UFC Fight Night card in Seattle, Anthony Hernandez was victorious over Brendan Allen in the middleweight division, while Austin Vanderford stopped Nikolay Veretennikov on his debut with the promotion.
Vanderford’s finish was one of eight on the 12-fight card as Jean Silva and Ricky Simon both secured devastating first-round knockouts too.
