BANTAMWEIGHT SHOWDOWN BETWEEN
(#7) HENRY CEJUDO AND (#8) SONG YADONG
HEADLINES UFC® RETURN TO SEATTLE
FEATURED BOUT:
(#9) ROB FONT vs DOMINICK CRUZ
UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: CEJUDO vs. SONG
TICKETS GO ON SALE FRIDAY, JANUARY 10
UFC® returns to Seattle for the first time since 2013 with a stacked card featuring former champions, top contenders and rising prospects. In the main event, former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion and current No. 7 ranked bantamweight contender Henry Cejudo returns to action against No. 8 ranked Song Yadong. In the co-main event, No. 9 ranked bantamweight contender Rob Font takes on fellow veteran and former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.
UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: CEJUDO vs. SONG takes place Sat., February 22 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wash. The entire card will stream exclusively on ESPN+ in English and Spanish beginning with the prelims at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT followed by the main card starting at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.
UFC® FIGHT NIGHT: CEJUDO vs. SONG tickets will go on sale Fri., January 10 at 10 a.m. PT and are available for purchase at ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wed., January 8 at 10 a.m. PT via the website UFCFightClub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thurs., January 9 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
A 2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling for the United States, Cejudo (16-4, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) steps back into the Octagon aiming to remind everyone of the skills that saw him become just the fourth fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously. Considered to be among the greatest combat sports athletes of all time, Cejudo holds notable wins over TJ Dillashaw, Demetrious Johnson and Marlon Moraes. He now looks to take out Song in dominant fashion.
Song (21-8-1 1NC, fighting out of Heilongjiang, China) plans to make a statement in his fourth UFC main event and insert himself into the title conversation. Still only 27 years old, he has already cemented himself as one of the top talents in the bantamweight division with wins over Chris Gutierrez, Ricky Sumon and Marlon Moraes. Song now seeks to secure the biggest victory of his career with a standout performance.
The always exciting Font (21-8, fighting out of Woburn, Mass.) intends to start his 2025 campaign by adding another former champion to his resume. A well-rounded athlete, he holds the second most knockouts in UFC bantamweight history with six, including those over Adrian Yanez, Thomas Almeida and Matt Schnell. He now has his sights set on defending his spot in the rankings and starting another run towards the Top 5.
Cruz (24-4, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) returns to action for the first time in almost three years. One of the best bantamweights in MMA history, Cruz holds iconic victories over some of the most notable names in the UFC, including Urijah Faber, T.J. Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson. He now is focused on delivering a vintage performance in his 19th appearance under the Zuffa banner.
Additional bouts on the card include:
- No. 15 ranked featherweight contender Edson Barboza (24-12, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) battles fellow striker Steve Garcia (17-5, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) in a bout guaranteed to produce fireworks
- No. 5 ranked UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes (18-5 1NC, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.) intends to make a statement against UFC debutant Rizvan Kuniev (13-2-1 1NC, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia)
- Jean Silva (14-2, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) looks to continue his undefeated run in the UFC when he faces Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-2, fighting out of Glendale, Calif.) in a featherweight contest
- Top middleweight contenders collide as No. 9 ranked Brendan Allen (24-6, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.) faces No. 13 Anthony Hernandez (13-2 1NC, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.)
- Adam Fugitt (10-4, fighting out of Eugene, Ore.) looks to spoil the UFC debut of Dana White’s Contender Series signee Islam Dulatov (11-1, fighting out of Dusseldorf, Germany)
- An all-action light heavyweight bout sees Ion Cutelaba (18-10-1 1NC, fighting out of Chisinau, Moldova) square off with Ibo Aslan (14-1, fighting out of Istanbul, Turkey)
- Top 5 bantamweight contenders lock horns as No. 3 ranked Ketlen Vieira (14-4, fighting out of Manaus, Brazil) goes toe-to-toe with No. 4 Macy Chiasson (11-3, fighting out of Dallas, Texas)
- Undefeated Dana White’s Contender Series standout Mansur Abdul-Malik (7-0, fighting out of Columbia, Md.) aims to impress against Antonio Trocoli (12-5 1NC, fighting out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil)
- Modestas Bukauskas (16-6, fighting out of London, England by way of Klaipeda, Lithuania) and Rafael Cerqueira (11-1, fighting out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil) meet in a light heavyweight bout
For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit UFC.com. All bouts are live and subject to change.
About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and approximately 266 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while broadcasting to over 900 million households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 80 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.
About Climate Pledge Arena
Climate Pledge Arena, located at Seattle Center, is the complete redevelopment of an historic landmark, originally built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. The arena is home to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, WNBA’s Seattle Storm, and the world’s biggest performers of live music and events. The arena is named after The Climate Pledge, an initiative founded by Amazon and Global Optimism asking global corporations to become net zero carbon by 2040. Climate Pledge Arena has one of the most progressive sustainability programs of any building its size, including being the world’s first Zero Carbon Certified arena. Climate Pledge Arena opened October 19, 2021. Visit climatepledgearena.com
About ESPN+
https://espnpressroom.com/us/espnplus/
About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading multiplatform sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, the leading sports app, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, leading social and digital platforms, ESPN.com, ESPN Audio, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.