UFC Fight Night Seattle delivered one of the greatest preliminary cards of recent memory, but its main event left viewers confused after its main event fell apart during the third round.

Henry Cejudo vs Song Yadong

Song Yadong got the biggest win of his career on Saturday night, but the 27-year-old bantamweight prospect will likely have to run his fight back with Henry Cejudo following his unanimous decision victory, because of a 3rd round eye poke that ended the fight prematurely. Yadong, while not dominating, was largely ahead on the judges’ scorecards going into the third round, when he committed multiple, albeit accidental fouls against Cejudo. First was a low blow, and then an eye poke, that seemed to catch Cejudo in not one, but both of his eyes.

Cejudo took the full five minutes of allotted time for the eye poke, complaining about being unable to see and being booed by the Seattle crowd. After the round continued, it was clear that Cejudo was still having problems with his eyes. Referee Jason Herzog called the fight after the third round, citing Cejudo’s multiple verbal expressions of his inability to see, and it went to the scorecards where Yadong was awarded the majority decision.

It was certainly a controversial finish, with many fans citing the severity of the eye poke as reason for the fight to be called a no contest, while others felt that Cejudo had “quit” following the end of the third round. Despite the controversy, Yadong still looked good against the former double champion and gold medalist, but he may have to fight this one again if the UFC feels that Cejudo’s injury warrants a rematch.

Also on the card: Prelims steal the show

UFC Seattle’s prelims all ended in spectacular finishes, and it demonstrated why sometimes the company’s best work is done on the undercard. Here’s how the other matches of the night ended up.

• Anthony Hernandez kept his winning streak alive when he defeated Brendan Allen for the second time in the co-main event of the evening via unanimous decision.
• Rob Font earned a second consecutive victory after he defeated the debuting undefeated prospect Jean Matsumoto in a very close split decision.
• Jean Silva earned his fourth KO victory in a row when he finished Melik Baghdasaryan late in round one, earning a performance of the night bonus.
• Alonzo Menefield defeated the debuting Julius Walker via split decision in the Fight of the Night.
• Ion Cutelaba scored as an underdog when he defeated Ibo Aslan in round one via arm triangle submission.
• Melquizael Costa defeated veteran Andre Fili in round one via guillotine submission.
• Mansur Abdul-Malik defeated Nick Klein after weathered early pressure to find a KO finish in round two.
• Ricky Simon defeated Javid Basharat in round one via KO to earn a performance of the night bonus.
• Debuting Austin Vanderford defeated Nikolai Veretennikov via TKO in round two.
• Nursulton Ruziboev got back in the win column when he defeated Eric McConicovia KO in round two.
• Modestas Bukauskas opened the night by defeating Rafael Cerqueira via KO.

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