UFC Seattle Main Card Preview

Published by Paul Browne on February 19, 2025

UFC Fight Night 252 Cursed By Injury

One of the most decimated fight cards in recent MMA history takes place in Seattle this weekend.

UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Song has lost no less than SEVEN of it’s originally scheduled contests, and a large percentage of the remaining 12 bouts on the ledger for Saturday’s event are made up either in part or completely of fighters who have answered the call from the UFC matchmakers at the last minute.

The planned retirement bout of former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz fell by the wayside, along with fights featuring stellar names such as Edson Barboza and Curtis Blaydes, but there are still plenty of intersting matchups for fans to get their teeth into.

Let’s take a look at the fights making up the main card this weekend.

Main Event: Henry Cejudo vs. Yadong Song (135 lbs)

At the third time of asking, former 2-weight UFC champion Henry Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) goes in search of his first victory since he came out of retirement in 2023.

“Triple C” famously beat Demetrious Johnson to win flyweight gold back in 2018 before moving up to capture the vacant bantamweight title when he beat Marlon Moraes the following year. After successfully defending the 135 lb belt against Dominick Cruz in 2020 he made the decision to walk away from the sport, in a move many believed to be an ill-advised negotiating tactic aimed at getting a payrise from the UFC.

He returned after a 3-year hiatus and walked straight into an immediate title shot against then-bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288, losing by split decision. In February of last year he fought Merab Dvalishvili in a number-one-contender bout and was outpointed over 3 rounds, a result which earned “The Machine” a title shot which he would go on to win against Sean O’Malley.

In Yadong Song (21-8-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) Cejudo will for the first time since 2017 face someone in a bout that doesn’t have title implications attached to it. Song fought once in 2024, losing by unanimous decision to former champion Petr Yan in March, and the Team Alpha Male representative should provide the type of test that will tell us exactly where 38-year-old Henry Cejudo fits into the UFC bantamweight picture right now.

Co-Main: Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez (185 lbs)

2 ranked middleweights go head-to-head for the second time in the co-main event slot when Kill Cliff FC’s Brendan Allen (24-6 MMA, 12-3 UFC) looks to get back to winning ways against rising star Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

29-year-old Allen had been riding a 7-fight winning streak (with 5 of those wins coming by way of rear naked choke) before his momentum was broken by a decision loss to Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Paris in September. He gets a second crack at Anthony Hernandez this weekend. The pair met for the vacant LFA middleweight title back in 2018 with Hernandez edging it on the judge’s scorecards on that occasion.

Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto (140 lbs)

After losing both his opponent in Dominick Cruz along with his place in the co-main event slot, Rob Font (21-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC) at least has the consolation of not having to cut an extra 5 lbs for his catchweight contest against unbeaten Brazilian prospect Jean Matsumoto (16-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC).

Matsumoto only debuted in the UFC last April but having beaten both Dan Argueta and 2-time TUF winner Brad Katona in that short timeframe, he gets a significant step up in competition against Font this weekend.

At 37 years of age, Font has shown signs of slowing down but did pick up a win in his last outing against Kyler Phillips in October.

Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan (145 lbs)

Another exciting Brazilian talent, Jean “Lord” Silva (14-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) will also be in action on Saturday when he takes on Armenia’s Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC).

Silva is one of the most intruiging fighters to emerge in the featherweight division in recent times. The Fighting Nerds prospect carries one-punch knockout power and has put away Westin Wilson, Charles Jourdain and Drew Dober in his short stint inside the Octagon so far. His biggest obstacle this time around may be the weighing scales. Silva missed the 146 lb mark when fighting Jourdain, and his last fight against Dober took place at lightweight.

Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker (205 lbs)

A late addtion to Saturday’s fight card sees Alonozo Menifield (15-5-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC) take on UFC newcomer Julius Walker (6-0) in the light heavyweight division. Menifield is in desperate need of a win after being finished by both Carlos Ulberg and Azamat Murzakanov in 2024.

25-year-old Walker gets his shot in the big leagues after finishing every opponent in his professional career to date, with 5 of those wins coming inside the opening round.