UFC Seattle's Thrilling Main Card Brings Excitement Feb. 22!

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UFC Seattle is upon us. This Saturday night, February’s UFC schedule comes to an end with another edition of UFC Fight Night. A week ago, the UFC Apex in Enterprise, NV played host to UFC Vegas 102.

This week, the famed Octagon heads to the Pacific Northwest. Climate Pledge Arena, formerly named KeyArena, serves as the host venue for the first UFC card in Seattle since 2013. UFC Seattle begins Saturday evening at a later time when compared to last week’s event.

Live coverage kicks off with the prelims at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT. Stateside, the card can be viewed on ESPN+ and/or Disney Plus. Main card action follows up at 9 pm ET/ 6 pm PT on the Disney-owned subscription-based streamers. All told, after seven fights on the bout order were postponed for one reason or another, the final version of this event features a 12-contest slate.

UFC Seattle Main Event: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong

At the top of the bill on the main card is a contest at bantamweight. No. 7 contender Henry Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) battles No. 8 contender Song Yadong (21-8-1, 1 NC MMA, 10-3-1 UFC). Both men in this five-round fight at five minutes per round haven’t fought in about a year’s time.

Cejudo, who initially retired from the sport of MMA after winning the UFC Bantamweight Championship in UFC 249 from Jacksonville in May of 2020, ended his retirement in 2023. In his last five fights, including the two he’s had since coming out of retirement, Henry Cejudo has posted a record of 3-2.

At the moment, he’s dropped two fights in succession in the aftermath of resuming his career as a fighter. Last time out, he dropped a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) after three rounds during UFC 298 in Anaheim, CA at the Honda Center.

Cejudo was on a five-fight winning streak at the time of his retirement. Can he restore his former glory in UFC Seattle’s main event?

In the other corner, Song Yadong enters the headlining bout with a mark of 3-2 in his last five MMA bouts dating back to March of 2022. Back in March of last year, he was on the losing end of a unanimous decision vs. Petr Yan (18-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) during UFC 299 from Kaseya Center in Miami to open up that evening’s main card.

During Wednesday’s UFC Seattle media availability, Song Yadong had one thing in mind: Sending Henry Cejudo back to retirement permanently.

“I think if he lost this one, this is his last fight, the last round,” Yadong told the assembled press on Wednesday, “but I will win this fight. I believe this is the last one, [his] last fight. This will be the last fight in Seattle. Time is over, it’s time to retire.”

UFC Seattle Co-Main Event: Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez

Immediately beforehand, the co-main attraction of UFC Seattle takes place in the middleweight division when No. 9 contender Brendan Allen (24-6 MMA, 12-3 UFC) faces off against No. 12 contender Anthony Hernandez (13-2, 1 NC MMA, 7-2 UFC). Brendan Allen comes into the co-main event of the evening having gone 4-1 in his last five fights.

He’ll make the 32nd walk to the cage of his career still smarting from having a seven-fight winning streak end last September in UFC Paris by way of unanimous decision against Nassourdine Imavov (16-4, 1 NC MMA, 8-2, 1 NC UFC) after three rounds. Allen has gone 7-1 over his last eight fights in the cage and is a seasoned veteran of the sport.

Another sustained winning streak beginning in UFC Seattle on Saturday can yield to a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship. He’s got to take it one fight, one round at a time.

Meanwhile, Anthony Hernandez enters the fight this weekend with a record of 5-0 in his last five fights as part of a six-fight winning streak. Back in October, he took Michel Pereira (31-12, 2 NC MMA, 9-3 UFC) to the fifth round of the UFC Vegas 99 main event before finishing him with ground and pound shots, netting him the $50,000 (USD) Performance of the Night Award a short time later.

Much like Brendan Allen was before UFC Paris last fall, Anthony Hernandez is on a sustained winning streak heading into UFC Seattle on Saturday night. He’s already on the cusp of the top-10 at 185, so a seventh victory in succession will surely put him there on Monday morning.

UFC Seattle: Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto

Also on the main card during UFC Seattle is a contracted catchweight affair at 140 lbs between No. 9 bantamweight contender Rob Font (21-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC) and late replacement Jean Matsumoto (16-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC).

Rob Font was initially supposed to square off against Dominick Cruz (24-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) on Saturday’s card before the latter was forced to retire from the sport a few weeks ago due to a shoulder injury. The former enters this catchweight fight having posted a 2-3 record in his last five fights.

Most recently, he returned to the win column via unanimous decision over Kyler Phillips (12-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) last October during UFC Vegas 99 after 15 minutes. While having to pivot from Dominick Cruz to Jean Matsumoto on a few weeks’ notice couldn’t have been easy for Font, this is the hand he was dealt after Cruz’ retirement.

What kind of adjustments has Font made with the change in opponent? Only time will tell.

In the other corner, Jean Matsumoto comes into UFC Seattle sporting an undefeated record. Last time out, he bested Brad Katona (14-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) by way of unanimous decision.

With the decision by Dominick Cruz to withdraw from the fight against Rob Font and then retire, Matsumoto will be making the walk for the first time in 2025 a little sooner than he anticipated. Prior to the opening on UFC Seattle becoming available, Matsumoto was slated to appear on March 8 versus Chris Gutierrez (21-5-2 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC.) Can he make it a 17-0 start to his professional MMA career?