UFC Seattle Preview

Image credits: UFC Staff Report

The UFC returns to Seattle this weekend for the first time since 2013 with a Fight Night card headlined by former two-weight champion Henry Cejudo returning to face rising 135-pounder Song Yadong in a featured five-round matchup. Cejudo, 38, is a former UFC flyweight and bantamweight titleholder, not to mention a 2008 Olympic gold medallist, is looking to snap a two-fight losing streak and make one final title run before retiring. Song, 27, is 10-3-1 in the UFC and also looking to get back in the win column after falling short against former champ Petr Yan over three rounds at UFC 299 almost one year ago.

Brendan Allen will look to avenge a previous loss from early in his career when he faces the red-hot Anthony Hernandez in an anticipated middleweight co-main event. Hernandez is a heavy betting favourite heading into the card at Climate Pledge Arena and was nearly heavy on the scales. The 31-year-old from California was the final fighter to step on the scale Friday morning and looked relieved when he came in at the non-title middleweight limit of 186 pounds with mere minutes to spare. Hernandez has made weight ahead of every fight of his UFC career. All 24 fighters scheduled to compete at UFC Seattle successfully made weight.

The event was originally supposed to have former UFC and WEC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz compete in his final pro bout and past TUF winner Michael Chiesa fight in his hometown however the card has undergone a handful of changes in the past couple weeks. Below is the projected bout order and full predictions for the sixth event thus far in 2025. The main card features a number of exciting matchups, including Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong, Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez, Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto, Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan, and Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker.

Some of the key predictions for the event include Aaron's picks, with his best bet being Simon vs. Basharat starts Round 3, his favourite being Aslan vs. Cutelaba does not start Round 3, his underdog being Rob Font, and his dart throw being Brendan Allen wins by decision. Dan's picks include his best bet being Mansur Abdul-Malik, his favourite being Ibo Aslan, his underdog being Henry Cejudo, and his dart throw being Raffael Cerqueira by decision. Mike's picks include his best bet being Jean Silva, his favourite being Song Yadong, his underdog being Brendan Allen, and his dart throw being Julius Walker by KO/TKO in over 1.5. The Cage Locks parlay features three legs, including Simon vs. Basharat starts Round 3, Mansur Abdul-Malik, and Jean Silva, with parlay odds of -187.

The following are the match scores and predictions for the event:

• Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong
• Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez
• Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto
• Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
• Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker

The preliminary card features a number of exciting matchups as well, including Ion Cutelaba vs. Ibo Aslan, Andre Fili vs. Melquizael Costa, Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Nick Klein, Ricky Simon vs. Javid Basharat, Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Austin Vanderford, Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Eric McConico, and Modestas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira. With a stacked card featuring a number of former champions and rising prospects, UFC Seattle is shaping up to be an exciting event. The UFC returns to Seattle for the first time since 2013, and fans are eagerly anticipating the action-packed card.

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