UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Yadong Predictions

UFC Fight Night 252 takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington and we’ve got our UFC predictions for all the fights below and you can place your bets with the best betting sites Australia has to offer!

UFC Fight Night 252 Predictions

Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong Prediction

Former flyweight and bantamweight champ Henry Cejudo has suffered two losses since coming back out of retirement following a three year hiatus in 2023. Now he’ll attempt to prove he can still get back to his best when he fights Song Yadong, whose compiled a very solid 10-3-1 record in the UFC to date, but is coming off a decision loss to Petr Yan almost a year ago.

GIven how long he spent out of action, Cejudo didn’t fare too badly at all in his comeback fight a couple of years ago, only losing to the 135lb champ at the time Aljamain Sterling by split-decision. However, even as a former Olympic wrestling gold medalist, Cejudo found himself being taken down multiple times and generally dominated by Merab Dvalishvili in his next fight – though to be fair, many others share that same fate. A year later he’s back again, and having just turned 38-year-old there’s no doubt that age is now a potential concern. That being said, he benefits from being an experienced fighter with a cerebral approach to the game who still poses a threat both on the feet on the mat. He’s not as quick any more on the feet, but he has very solid boxing fundamentals and good natural power in his hands, and of course though he’s almost 17 years removed from his Olympic success, he’s still a strong and savvy wrestler by MMA standards.

Being 11-years younger than Cejudo, the 27-year-old Yadong’s speed and athleticism on the feet should only be accentuated here. He’s a skilled technical striker who moves well and has crisp boxing in particular, but adds kicks into his attacks nicely. He has very good power and the energy levels to keep a good pace from start to finish, and is mindful of his defensive responsibilities too. He prefers to keep the fight standing, but he can transition to some decent offensive wrestling at times, while his takedown defense is quite good, but not impenetrable. He is capable of staying safe on the mat though and will often find opportunities to scramble back to his feet.

Cejudo certainly would have an advantage if he can bring his wrestling into play here, but he doesn’t commit to that as much these days, and at this age and stage I think that’ll be easier said than done here. Yadong is quick, agile and with a 4″ height and 3″ reach advantage he’ll be looking to keep the veteran on the end of his strikes from range. Yadong has also shown he has no problem going five full rounds, and I think he’ll frustrate Cejudo here on the feet and remain the fresher of the two late on to emerge with a decision victory.

Prediction: Song Yadong to win by decision.

Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez Prediction

Brendan Allen’s seven-fight winning streak was derailed by Nassourdine Imavov in September of last year and now he looks to bounce back in a rematch with Anthony Hernandez, who is unbeaten in his last six Octagon appearances.

The 29-year-old Allen is a well-conditioned, hard-working fighter who likes to press the action and is at his utilizing solid wrestling to get on top. From there his assured grappling often leads to back takes, where he controls opponents well and sets up opportunities to sink in his tried-and-tested rear-naked choke that’s finished six opponents in the UFC. Allen has also worked to develop his striking too, and though it’s still not his strong suit he does have respectable fundamentals and kicks well.

The 31-year-old ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez already holds a 2018 decision win over Allen in the LFA promotion not long before he joined the UFC. He didn’t have the best of starts in the Octagon, suffering two losses in his first three fights, but he’s gone on to exceed expectations in the 185lb ranks with a lengthy winning streak, that began with a shock submission win over BJJ ace Rodolfo Vieira, and most recently saw him end Michel Pereira’s 8-fight win streak via a late TKO stoppage. Hernandez fights at a high-tempo regardless of where the fight goes and has proven he has the cardio to maintain that even over five rounds. On the feet he’s a high-volume striker with good durability, but he is always seeking out opportunities to go for takedowns in order to utilize his skilled, crafty and tireless grappling that presents a constant submission threat, and he’s good in scrambles too.

These two’s previous fight was primarily a back-and-forth grappling battle, and it was Hernandez who soon got the better of it, enjoying periods of control on top, while managing to get reversals when he was on his back. Both fighters have certainly evolved since then, but are still well matched in terms of their skills and stamina. In the end though I still believe Hernandez is the slicker, trickier grappler to deal with and also able to hold his own on the feet, so I’ll take him to win again on the scorecards.

Prediction: Anthony Hernandez to win by decision.

Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto Prediction

Rob Font is coming off a decision win over Kyler Phillips last year and had been expecting to head into a high-profile fight with Dominick Cruz on this card, only for his opponent to get injured and subsequently retire. As such Font will now take on a short-notice replacement in former Contender Series recruit Jean Matsumoto, who is 2-0 in the UFC so far.

The 37-year-old Font is getting up there in years now, and not so long ago he’d lost four of his previous five fights, so getting that win over a younger, well-respected opponent like Phillips last time out was big for him. And to his credit, his losses came against elite competition in Jose Aldo, Marlon Vera, Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo, and he took each to the scorecards. Font has a boxing-orientated style that works off his tried-and-trusted jab that’ll benefit from a 2″ height and 3″ reach advantage here. He’s not big one-punch finisher, but he does have good hand speed, pressure and activity, which can take a toll on opponents over time. Font can work in some offensive wrestling at times, but he’s not got the best takedown defense and can be outgrappled. Nevertheless, he’s only ever been submitted once and though he has been hurt at times in recent fights, he’s still never lost via strikes.

The 26-year-old Matsumoto may not be a high-profile fighter like Font’s originally intended opponent Cruz, but he still presents a tough challenge here as he’s undefeated in his 16-fight career to date and has looked at home in his two Octagon outings so far. Matsumoto has a muay thai striking style, attacks in volume and is comfortable working at close quarters. He’s a bit too willing to eat strikes at times though, and aside from a few TKO finishes at the start of his career he’s not presented a clear finishing threat on the feet. Matsumoto isn’t the most convincing wrestler, but he does have solid grappling ability, where he favors front headlock chokes that have delivered a number of submission victories.

This is a real step up in competition for Matsumoto, and though he was training for a fight next month it’s not ideal to be coming in on such short-notice, even if it is at a 140lb catchweight. Meanwhile, Font’s last appearances against Phillips showed he’s still able to battle his way past younger opposition, though it’s only a matter of time before the cracks start to show more significantly. Nevertheless, with all his high-level experience over the years and better work from range with his assured jab work I’m going to say he gets the better of the competitive striking exchanges here and limits Matsumoto’s mat-work opportunities to emerge with a decision win.

Prediction: Rob Font to win by decision

Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan Prediction

Jean Silva racked up three wins in a row last year and now faces another former Contender Series recruit in Melsik Baghdasaryan, who has gone 3-1 in the promotion so far.

The 28-year-old Silva arrived in the UFC with a reputation as a hard-hitting finisher, and he’s lived up to that so far. All three of his wins in the Octagon have come via strikes, including becoming the first person to KO Charles Jourdain and then just two weeks later TKO’ing the very durable Drew Dober despite taking the fight up a weight class on short notice. Silva is not just blessed with raw punching power though, as he’s also very fast, has good distance management and reads his opponents well, which enables him to evade offensive coming his way and then swiftly move in to land strikes on the counter with good accuracy. Silva also has strong takedown defense to keep the fight upright, and punishes opponents who do try to clinch up with elbows, uppercuts and the threat of a guillotine choke. A potential risk factor for Silva is that he’s an animated character in the Octagon who can become distracted with minor interactions with his opponents like wanting to high-five, and given his tendency to keep his hands low at times it could lead to him getting caught at some stage. He’s also had issues making weight at 145lbs in the past.

The 33-year-old Baghdasaryan has been in the UFC since 2020, but repeated injury woes have left him with just four Octagon appearances. He comes from a pro-kickboxing background and for a time was briefly competing for K1 before turning his attention to MMA, at which point he racked up four ultra-quick 1st round finishes via strikes before getting a Contender Series call-up. For the most part he’s not been as devastating as that since, with three of his four wins since being by decision, but he has very good striking technique, attacks in volume and has dangerous head kicks. Baghdasaryan doesn’t really have much to offer beyond his striking though and is vulnerable on the mat, with his two losses to date coming via submission.

This could be a very entertaining striking battle and I think Silva could come out on top in that regard with his pace, pressure, counter-striking and knack for avoiding big strikes coming his way. However, he should also have a clear advantage on the mat if he chooses to use it as it’s a real weak point for Baghdasaryan. I’ll take Silva to win by TKO in the second round.

Prediction: Jean Silva to win by TKO in Rd2.

Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker Prediction

Alonzo Menifield suffered a dreadful 2024 campaign that saw him suffer back-to-back KO losses, and now will try to get back on track against the debuting Julius Walker, who is 6-0 in his MMA career to date.

Given how badly last year went for the 37-year-old Menifield he may be breathing a sigh of relief that he’s now facing Walker on a week’s notice rather than the undefeated Oumar Sy, who he was originally scheduled to fight in a months time. Confidence still won’t exactly be high for Menifield though given that he was KO’d in just 12 seconds by Carlos Ulberg and then by Azamat Murzakhanov just three months later. Menifield hasn’t traditionally had durability issues though, with cardio having been more of a concern at times due to his stocky, muscular physique and tendency to look for finishes via strikes early in his fights. These days though he fights at a more measured pace, but he still likes to press forward, and though he’s not the most technical striker he has good punching power and can deliver some solid kicks too. He prefers to keep the fight standing, but he doesn’t mind being on the mat and has been able to notch up the occasional submission win, along with possessing mean ground-and-pound.

This late-replacement opportunity for the debuting Walker comes relatively early in his career as though the 25-year-old has amateur experience too, he’s only been competing as a pro for less than two years. He has racked up a 6-0 record during that time, but this is a big step up in competition. ‘Juice Box’ will however enjoy a significant 4″ height and 5″ reach advantage on Saturday night, and he’ll use his long limbs to land straight punches down the pipe and nice low kicks too. He’s also willing to go for takedowns, has good ground-and-pound, and some submission ability too, but his takedown defense is shaky and he gives up his back too easily.

If Menifield’s chin is gone then Walker could have a chance here. The newcomer has some good physical tools to work with, but he’s still very much a work-in-progress at this stage and untested at this level too, so a short-notice fight with an experienced veteran doesn’t seem like the best fit for him right now. With that in mind I’ll take Menifield to hurt his opponent on the feet and finish via strikes on the mat in the 2nd round.

Prediction: Alonzo Menifield to win by TKO in Rd2.

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UFC Fight Night 252 Prelims

(Predicted winners in bold)

Ion Cuțelaba vs. Ibo Aslan
Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Eric McConico
Andre Fili vs. Melquizael Costa
Ricky Simón vs. Javid Basharat
Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Nick Klein
Modestas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira

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MMA Writer

Ross Cole

Ross Cole is one of the most prolific mixed martial arts writers in the world.

Having written more than 22,000 MMA news stories for MMA Insight, which he founded in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Few people know the UFC and the sport of MMA like Ross, and he has built a solid reputation for being one of the best MMA tipsters in the world.

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