Henry Cejudo had a bad night at the office in his latest appearance at UFC Seattle.
The former two-division champion suffered a gruesome injury after multiple eye pokes left his vision impaired and ultimately forced a stoppage in his fight against Song Yadong. As a result, Cejudo ended up losing a technical decision since at least three rounds were completed, meaning the fight went to the judges’ scorecards.
The fight not only handed Cejudo his third straight loss overall but he’s now facing an indefinite medical suspension until he gets cleared by an ophthalmologist for his eye injury.
On Thursday, the Washington State Department of Licensing released the medical suspensions from the UFC Seattle card to MMA Fighting via a public records request.
Because of the eye injury, Cejudo must get clearance before the medical suspension is lifted and he has a minimum suspension through March 24 and no contact through March 15.
Following the conclusion of the fight, Cejudo revealed he suffered “diplopia (double vision), soft tissue damage [and] corneal abrasion” from the eye poke.
Diplopia, Soft Tissue Damage, Corneal Abrasion.
“hE wANteD a wAy OuT” #UFCSeattle pic.twitter.com/SYG48fmb3M
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 23, 2025
As for Song, he faces a potentially longer suspension listed until Aug. 21., although there’s no note from the commission why he could be forced to sit out for six months from the date of the fight. Typically, a doctor’s clearance can usurp a medical suspension but Song hasn’t booked another fight since beating Cejudo so there’s no telling if he might try to compete again prior to Aug. 21.
The only other lengthy suspension from the card was for Nikolay Veretennikov after he suffered a second-round TKO loss to UFC newcomer Austin Vanderford. Veretennikov was suspended through Aug. 21 pending an MRI and doctor’s clearance on an injured right shoulder. He faces a minimum suspension through April 8.
Here are the full medical suspensions for the UFC Seattle card:
Song Yadong: Suspended until Aug. 21
Henry Cejudo: Indefinite suspension pending ophthalmological clearance (eye injury). Minimum suspension through March 24, no contact through March 15.
Anthony Hernandez: Suspended through March 24, no contact through March 15
Brendan Allen: Suspended through March 1
Rob Font: Suspended through March 1
Jean Matsumoto: Suspended through March 24
Jean Silva: Suspended through March 1
Melsik Baghdasaryan: Suspended through March 24
Alonzo Menifield: Suspended through March 24, no contact through March 15
Julius Walker: Suspended through March 24
Ion Cutelaba: Suspended through March 15, no contact through March 8
Ibo Aslan: Suspended through March 1
Melquizael Costa: Suspended through March 1
Andre Fili: Suspended through March 24, no contact through March 15
Mansur Abdul-Malik: Suspended through March 24, no contact through March 15
Nick Klein: Suspended through March 24
Ricky Simon: Suspended through March 1
Javid Basharat: Suspended through April 23
Austin Vanderford: Suspended through March 1
Nikolay Veretennikov: Suspended through Aug 21 pending MRI and doctor’s clearance on right shoulder. Minimum suspension through April 8
The UFC 313 pre-fight press conference on Thursday features six of the top fighters competing on Saturday night’s card from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
At the top, Alex Pereira returns to defend his light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev in a five-round main event. Meanwhile, Justin Gaethje makes his first appearance since UFC 300 when he clashes with Rafael Fiziev in an intriguing co-main event.
Also featured on stage during the press conference are lightweights Jalin Turner and Ignacio Bahamondes as they get ready to meet in a lightweight bout on the main card.
All six athletes join the stage with the press conference expected to start at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Check out results and highlights from UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10, where Victor Hugo submitted a CJI champ and female BJJ stars stole the show.
UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 (UFC FPI 10) was a pretty stacked grappling event, which was filled with several Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) world champions and top prospects.
The card was headlined by CJI champion Nick Rodriguez and five-time IBJJF world champion Victor Hugo. “Nicky Rod” has been on an incredibly dominant run as of late, but lost all three previous matches to Hugo by close decisions. He believed his improvements would be key to finally get a win over his rival, but Hugo had other plans.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Victor Hugo goes 4-0 against Nicky Rod to close out rivalry
Much like their other matches, this fourth meeting was again close and competitive. Nick Rodriguez actually got to side mount and spent decent time in the dominant position. Unfortunately for the B-Team star, points don’t count in the opening round and the match went to overtime.
Rodriguez tried to use his wrestling to score once points came into play, but Hugo pulled off a counter throw that proved to be clutch. He then immediately transitioned to the back, and got the rear naked choke finish.
Hugo officially went 4-0 against Rodriguez, but this time actually getting a submission to put a definitive finish to their rivalry. He then called for a bigger name after.
“I think there’s only one guy that beat Nicky Rod on this stage. He’s not active, but whenever he is, it’ll be a pleasure. If he’s up for it, (I want) to face Gordon Ryan,” Hugo said, calling out the often inactive BJJ superstar. “After getting through Nicky, that’s the name that makes sense.”
Victor Hugo shows he has Nicky Rod’s number, pulling off a clutch counter takedown and submitting the CJI champ.
Hugo is now 4-0 over Rodriguez after the UFC FPI 10 main event. pic.twitter.com/7V8F0eojKY
— Anton Tabuena (@antontabuena) March 7, 2025
The co-main event was incredibly close, with Renato Canuto vs. Oliver Taza also being decided in overtime. Canuto remained undefeated at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational after getting a clutch guard pass in the waning seconds to win by points.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCHelena Crevar locks in a brutal calf slicer.
Helena Crevar, female BJJ stars, steal the show at UFC FPI 10
Outside of the massive main event, several female BJJ stars shined at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10.
Stealing the show on the talent rich event was teenage BJJ phenom Helena Crevar. The ADCC silver medalist made it look easy once again, locking in a nasty calf slicer against Maggie Grindatti-Lira to continue her impressive run at just 18 years of age.
Brutal calf slicer from Helena Crevar, with the 18-year-old BJJ prodigy submitting yet another black belt. pic.twitter.com/8ESxfVlunI
— Anton Tabuena (@antontabuena) March 7, 2025
In a rubber match between decorated BJJ world champions, Brianna Ste-Marie countered a guillotine attempt and finished Elisabeth Clay with a rarely seen Von Flue choke. Ste-Marie, a two-time IBJJF world champ and ADCC silver medalist, completed the trilogy and went 2-1 against Clay.
Rare Von Flue choke finish!
Brianna Ste-Marie wins the rubber match with fellow decorated BJJ champ Elisabeth Clay at UFC FPI 10. pic.twitter.com/upxpkGAWkz
— Anton Tabuena (@antontabuena) March 7, 2025
Also on the card, the youngest ever IBJJF black belt world champion in Cassia Moura outpointed Andre Galvao’s daughter, Sarah Galvao in a close and competitive battle between BJJ prodigies.
Filipino-American no gi world champ Alex Enriquez also scored a slick back take and quick rear naked choke earlier on the UFC FPI 10 card.
Alex Enriquez locks it in #FPI10 pic.twitter.com/RUfRFStgxB
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) March 7, 2025
Check here for full results and more highlights from the UFC FPI 10 event.
For the latest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and grappling-related news click here.
Magomed Ankalaev isn’t known for his trash talk but he had plenty to say when addressing Alex Pereira on Thursday during the UFC 313 pre-fight press conference.
The usually soft-spoken Russian was almost uncharacteristically vocal on stage while dealing with a raucous crowd that was mostly backing his opponent. None of it seemed to bother Ankalaev much as he smiled through the boos and vowed to change the chants by the time Saturday night’s main event is over.
“I’d like to say that I see in this fight everyone is against me,” Ankalaev said. “Everyone is saying ‘Chama! Chama! Chama!’ But guess what? Chama time is over. After this Saturday night, after the fight, you will all love me.
“The same people that are saying Chama now are going to be saying No Chama! It’s Ankalaev time.”
Of course, ‘Chama’ is a word that Pereira has made famous during his stunning run through the UFC where he’s been a two-division champion with three title defenses already under his belt in the light heavyweight division.
But despite his dominance, Pereira is barely favored to win in his latest fight with many believing he’s facing his biggest obstacle yet in Ankalaev.
With a 19-1 record with one no contest including 10 knockouts and a background in combat sambo, Ankalaev seemingly has the size and power to give Pereira problems no matter where this fight goes. That’s one of the reasons why he’s been championed as the true No. 1 contender in the division for quite some time after he came up short in his previous bid at becoming champion following a split draw with Jan Blachowicz back in 2022.
That setback forced Ankalaev to work a little harder to get back to another title shot and he believes Pereira should be grateful for that fact.
“I wasn’t upset about the last [title] fight,” Ankalaev said. “I have nobody to blame, it’s just myself. We saw the fight. The whole world saw the fight but it happened the way it happened. Now it’s a whole different ballgame. It’s a different fight, it’s a different opponent.
“You know what? Honestly, [Pereira] should say thank you to Dana White for protecting him this whole time. Now it’s going to be a whole different thing.”
While the partisan crowd rarely quieted down much to allow Ankalaev to speak, he did get a few questions from the Russian media assembled — including one question about beating Pereira so bad that he’s forced to give up his fight career and go back to his old job working at a tire shop in Brazil.
Ankalaev couldn’t help but laugh at that one before responding.
“We’re planning on absolutely dominating him on Saturday,” Ankalaev said. “We’re going to make sure that Chama has no chances on Saturday. Whether or not he stays in the sport or decides to go back to the tire shop, that’s going to be up to him. He’s going to be the one that has to make that decision.”
For all the ways Ankalaev expects to win and walk out of UFC 313 as champion, he’s not even contemplating what comes next until he gets through Pereira.
Because Pereira has been such a dominant champion, he could potentially warrant an immediate rematch no matter how the fight plays out but Ankalaev prefers getting the job done first before he starts thinking about that.
“For now we’re not concentrating on what’s going to happen afterwards,” Ankalaev said. “Right now, we’ve got a fight in front of us. Let’s go out there, let’s win and then afterwards we’ll think about who’s going to get the rematch or what.”
A former MMA fighter who once competed under Jorge Masvidal’s promotion tragically lost his life after an alleged home invasion turned deadly.
According to a report from News4JAX, a 31-year-old man was shot and killed on Tuesday night in what authorities are calling an act of self-defense. The fatal incident occurred on SW Leslie Glen in Lake City, Florida, after the man allegedly attempted to break into the residence of his ex-wife.
The individual was later identified as professional mixed martial artist Langston Sykes. Reports indicate that Sykes forcibly entered the home, where he was met with gunfire. Authorities revealed that an adult inside the residence had an active protection order against him.
UFC bantamweight fighter Ramon Taveras took to Facebook on Thursday to mourn the untimely passing of Sykes.
“Didn’t really know Lanko Sykes but we shared the mats together a few times. Sad to see this happen man, cause this could have been me last year. I just want to say this, to anybody who’s chasing a dream don’t lose it over something or somebody. IT IS NOT WORTH IT!! The UFC has shown me things I thought I’d never see, brought me to places I never been, introduced me to some of the best people I have ever met!! It is so much more out there to life for you to explore than what you see on the daily basis,” Tavares wrote.
Sykes last stepped into the cage at Island Fights 84 last August, where he secured a first-round knockout victory over Anson Swindle.
1⃣
Langston Sykes, Island Fights 84. Video original: https://t.co/8kyREud3iB pic.twitter.com/wQv7QwVSFk
— Barrele la pierna (@Barrelelapierna) August 12, 2024
Sykes began his professional MMA journey at Jorge Masvidal’s iKON FC 4 in August 2022, but his debut was far from ideal, as he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Malcolm Wellmaker. He struggled to find consistency in the cage and held a 1-4 record.
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Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC 
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