Tag: Song Yadong

UFC Fight Night 252 payouts: Nine fighters receive six-figures for Seattle battles

UFC Seattle payouts were released by the Washington State Department of Licensing on Thursday, including Song Yadong vs. Henry Cejudo.

Nine fighters walked away from the UFC’s recent return to Seattle with six-figure disclosed payouts, according to the Washington State Department of Licensing (WSDOL), which oversaw the event.

UFC Fight Night 252 took place Feb. 22 at Climate Pledge Arena and featured 12 bouts.

Main event competitors [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] and [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] joined [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag], [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag], [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag], [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag], [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag], [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag], and [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag] as the fighters who received six-figures.

Thursday, MMA Junkie acquired state documents of the disclosed payouts from WSDOL, which can be seen below. Forbes was first to report the payouts Wednesday.

It’s important to note the amounts are strictly the disclosed amounts for show and win. They do not include side letter payments, sponsorships, or discretionary/performance bonuses. Additionally, they do not include taxes or miscellaneous deductions.

  • Song Yadong: $320,000 (includes $160,000 win bonus)
  • Henry Cejudo: $150,000
  • Anthony Hernandez: $144,000 (includes $72,000 win bonus)
  • Brendan Allen: $210,000
  • Rob Font: $320,000 (includes $160,000 win bonus)
  • Jean Matsumoto: $26,000
  • Jean Silva: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
  • Melsik Baghdasaryan: $35,000
  • Alonzo Menifield: $240,000 (includes $120,000 win bonus)
  • Julius Walker: $12,000
  • Ion Cutelaba: $190,000 (includes $95,000 win bonus)
  • Ibo Aslan: $35,000
  • Melquizael Costa: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)
  • Andre Fili: $110,000
  • Mansur Abdul-Malik: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
  • Nick Klein: $10,000
  • Ricky Simon: $160,000 (includes $80,000 win bonus)
  • Javid Basharat: $30,000
  • Austin Vanderford: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
  • Nikolay Veretennikov: $12,000
  • Nursulton Ruziboev: $74,000 (includes $37,000 win bonus)
  • Eric McConico: $12,000
  • Modestas Bukauskas: $96,000 (includes $48,000 win bonus)
  • Raffael Cerqueira: $10,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.

UFC Fight Night 252 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Andre Fili leads way with $21,000

UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance money was sent out after UFC Seattle, with veteran Andre Fili topping the card.

SEATTLE – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 252 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $185,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 252 took place at Climate Pledge Arena in Washington. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 252 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Brendan Allen[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Rob Font[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Jean Matsumoto[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Julius Walker[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Ibo Aslan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Melquizael Costa[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Andre Fili[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Mansur Abdul-Malik[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nick Klein[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Javid Basharat[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Austin Vanderford[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Nikolay Veretennikov[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Nursulton Ruziboev[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Eric McConico[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rafael Cerqueira[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2521 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2025 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,224,500
2024 total: $8,280,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $32,242,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.

UFC Fight Night 252 video: Henry Cejudo brings giant fortune cookie to Song Yadong faceoff

Henry Cejudo brought props to the UFC Seattle ceremonial weigh-ins where he faced off with Song Yadong.

SEATTLE – [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] and [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] conducted their final pre-fight business before the UFC Fight Night 252 main event with a faceoff at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins.

After successfully making weight earlier in the day, Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Song (21-8-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) got the chance to size each other up one last time before stepping into the octagon at Climate Pledge Arena (ESPN+).

Before they did, though, Cejudo had a surprise on the scale as he received a giant fortune cookie from his coach, broke it open, and revealed his fortune with a prediction.

Cejudo, the former two-division UFC champion, will attempt to get his first win since returning from retirement in May 2023 when he takes on Song, who presents a dangerous knockout threat and look to take his career to the next level.

Check out the video above to see the final Cejudo vs. Song staredown ahead of UFC Fight Night 252.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.

Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC Fight Night 252 main event

Song Yadong enters the UFC Seattle main event as a favorite over former two-division champ Henry Cejudo.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] will look to get back on track against [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] in the UFC Fight Night 252 main event.

Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong preview

Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) lands a main event spot on the heels of back-to-back losses. At UFC 288, Cejudo lost a split decision to Aljamain Sterling in an attempt to reclaim 135-pound gold. Sterling’s teammate and now-champion Merab Dvalishvili then won a unanimous decision over Cejudo at UFC 298. Prior to both setbacks, Cejudo was on a six-fight winning streak, a run that included capturing both the flyweight and bantamweight titles. … Song (21-8-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) enters this main event opportunity following a decision loss to former champ Petr Yan at UFC 299 last March. The result followed back-to-back wins over Ricky Simon and Chris Gutierrez in 2023.

Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong odds

According to DraftKings, former two-division champion Cejudo has opened up as a slight +190 underdog against 14-fight UFC veteran Song, who’s listed as a -230 favorite.

How to watch Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong at UFC Fight Night 252

  • When: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025
  • Where: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle
  • Broadcast/streaming: ESPN+

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.

Song Yadong eyes knockout win over Henry Cejudo at UFC Seattle: ‘I believe in my ground skills’

Song Yadong is confident that his ground game will hold up against Henry Cejudo at UFC Fight Night 252.

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] is confident that his ground game will hold up against [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 252.

Song (21-8-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) meets former bantamweight champion Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in the Feb. 22 headliner at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

The Team Alpha Male fighter has been angling for a fight with Cejudo for a while and will finally get his wish. He expects Cejudo to implement a heavy grapple approach in their fight, but he’s ready for it.

“He’s a very good wrestler, he’s an Olympic-level wrestling skilled,” Song said in an interview with Home of Fight. “I believe he can take me down, but I don’t think he can hold me down. I know I can handle it. I believe in my ground skills.

“And this fight, I will try my best to knock him out and give him a lot of pressure in the cage. I like five rounds. Five rounds gives me more time and experience and suffering for him. I will knock him out in the early rounds or beat him by decision, but I will win the fight. I believe in myself.”

Since coming out of retirement in 2023, Cejudo has lost back-to-back to former champion Aljamain Sterling and current champ Merab Dvalishvili. Song suggests the three years off harmed Cejudo.

“It’s not a good time for him to come back, and it wasn’t the good time for him to retire,” Song said.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.

Former champ Henry Cejudo targeted to headline UFC Seattle vs. Song Yadong

Seattle has its UFC main event for 2025.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] has his next UFC assignment.

A former UFC bantamweight champion, Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is targeted to return vs. [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] (21-8-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) in a main event bout at UFC Fight Night 252. The event takes place Feb. 22 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie that verbal agreements are in place with contracts expected to be issued in the coming days. The people asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. X user @realkevin first reported the bout.

Cejudo, 37, will look to snap a two-fight skid. The back-to-back losses to Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili came following the conclusion of a three-year “retirement” hiatus, prior to which Cejudo vacated the promotion’s bantamweight title.

Yadong, 27, also looks to reenter the win column. He most recently competed this past March, when he lost a unanimous decision to Petr Yan. The defeat snapped a two-fight winning streak of victories over Ricky Simon and Chris Gutierrez.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 252 lineup includes:

  • Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong
  • Dominick Cruz vs. Rob Font
  • Macy Chiasson vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Edson Barboza vs. Steve Garcia
  • Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Ibo Aslan vs. Ion Cutelaba
  • Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev
  • Islam Dulatov vs. Adam Fugitt
  • Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Jean Silva
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira
  • Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Antonio Trocoli

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.

Urijah Faber says Song Yadong vs. Umar Nurmagomedov being discussed for UFC 311 in January

Urijah Faber says if Song Yadong vs. Umar Nurmagomedov happens, it won’t be in December.

[autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag] says if [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] happens, it won’t be in December.

Rumors emerged that Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) has opted to remain active by taking on rising contender Yadong (21-8-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) on Dec. 14. Yadong’s head coach Faber shut down rumblings of a December fight, and thinks the fight would probably take place Jan. 18 at UFC 311.

Nurmagomedov emerged as No. 1 contender after defeating Cory Sandhagen in his first main event in August. But with newly crowned champion Merab Dvalishvili wanting to defend his belt in March – during the month of Ramadan where Nurmagomedov doesn’t compete, Nurmagomedov would rather not wait.

“We don’t have a date for that yet,” Faber told Helen Yee. “I don’t think Dec. 14 is the date that we’ve talked about. I think January is what we’re looking at, but we like that fight. I think both Umar and Song are guys that people don’t want to fight, so they’re both willing to step up. I think that’s a good fight.

“We’d fight (champion Sean) O’Malley. We’d fight (Deiveson) Figueiredo. We’d fight any of these guys, really. But yeah, they’ve been talking about that fight. I’ve been seeing all sorts of stuff being posted about that fight, Nothing’s been signed. That date has not been agreed upon. If that fight does happen, it’d most likely happen in January.”

Team Alpha Male’s Yadong has won five of his past seven, but is coming off a unanimous decision loss to former champion Petr Yan at UFC 299 in March.

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Song Yadong rips Henry Cejudo for going after Sean O’Malley: ‘You’ve been ducking me since July’

Song Yadong continues to campaign for a fight with Henry Cejudo. 

[autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag] continues to campaign for a fight with former UFC two-division champion [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag].

Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) intends on dropping back down to flyweight but said he’d stick around bantamweight to fight [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC). Cejudo is convinced that O’Malley will lose his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 306 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) headliner at Sphere in Las Vegas, which would set up a potential fight between them.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Song’s coach, Urijah Faber, revealed the promotion was interested in booking Song (21-8-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) vs. Cejudo at Noche UFC, but Cejudo wasn’t healthy. Song accused Cejudo of turning down a fight with him and mocked him for going after O’Malley.

“@HenryCejudo You’ve been ducking me since July. I know you told them you had injury, you want to go back to FW. But now you asking for @SugaSeanMMA 🤦??? Get fans what they want! See me in Macau!”

https://twitter.com/SongYadongLFG/status/1833608276887707895

Song is coming off a unanimous decision loss to former champion Petr Yan at UFC 299 in March. Prior to that, he picked up back-to-back main event wins over Ricky Simon and Chris Gutierrez. He hopes to compete at UFC Fight Night 248 at Galaxy Arena in Macau, China, which doesn’t yet have a main event.

Since coming out of retirement, Cejudo has dropped two straight to former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and current title challenger Dvalishvili.

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UFC 299 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Sean O’Malley’s $42,000 tops card

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 299 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $359,000.

MIAMI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 299 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $359,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 299 took place at Kaseya Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+.

The full UFC 299 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag]: $21,000;

[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Song Yadong[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Jailton Almeida[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Maycee Barber[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Katlyn Cerminara[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Kyler Phillips[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Michel Pereira[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josh Parisian[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Asu Almabaev[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]CJ Vergara[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Joanne Wood[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Maryna Moroz[/autotag]: $11,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,362,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $24,069,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.

UFC 299 results: Petr Yan snaps three-fight losing streak, outlasts Yadong Song

Petr Yan rebounded in impressive fashion at UFC 299 by getting past Yadong Song, snapping a three-fight skid.

[autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] rebounded in impressive fashion.

In the main card opener of UFC 299 at Kaseya Center in Miami, former champion Yan (17-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) rallied to defeat rising contender Yadong Song (21-8-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) in their bantamweight bout to snap his three-fight losing skid by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Song opened up with a leg kick and a quick left hook in Round 1. Song faked a takedown attempt, as Yan connected with an overhand right. Song was finding a home for the left hook, as Yan attacked the body. Song landed a takedown towards the end of the round.

At the start of Round 2, Song pushed Yan against the fence, but Yan was able to break free. Yan continued to bite heavily on Song’s takedown attempts, but made him pay with a couple of short uppercuts. Yan started to open up, and defended a Song single leg takedown attempt. Yan landed a couple of uppercuts followed by a body shot. Yan ended the round with a takedown of his own, and cut Song with an elbow on the ground.

Both fighters landed big body kicks to kick off Round 3. Song pumped out his jab, as Yan countered with a spinning heel kick. Yan stuffed another Song takedown and fired some body shots. Yan’s takedown defense continued to hold up, as Song slowed down. With a about a minute remaining in the fight, Yan landed a takedown, and maintained top position for the rest of the round.

The judges saw the fight unanimously for the former champion Yan.

As a result, Yan returns to the win column, snapping a three-fight skid stretching back to 2021. After dropping the title by DQ to Aljamain Sterling, Yan won the interim belt by beating Cory Sandhagen, but then went winless until returning to the winner’s circle by defeating Song.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 299 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.