UFC Seattle Returns to Seattle
Dana White has announced on social media that The UFC will be returning to Seattle after 12 years. The card will be a Fight Night and will take place in the Climate Pledge Arena on Febuary 22nd. The fights on the card are looking very good and this should be a nice fight night to deliver some entertainment at the start of the year
This is currently how the card is currently looking and it does not disappoint. To start from the top and with what I assume will be the main Henry Cejudo vs Song Yadong. This is a classic example of the veteran vs the young contender in what could be a passing of the torch fight. Cejudo since his comeback has failed to have any wins losing to Aljamain Sterling and Merab Devalishvili. However they are very high level one being a former champion and the other a current champion. Cejudo also showed he can still hang at the top making the Merab fight competitive and wobbling him. Song Yadong looks to re-stablish himself as a contender following a hard fought fight against Petr Yan. If Cejudo loses here we may see a retirement.
Presumably the co-main event and a very intriguing bout is Rob Font vs Dominick Cruz. Cruz is returning after a more than 2 year hiatus during which there was much speculation about a return. Last time out he fought Marlon Vera and was winning the bout until the famous headkick. The choice of opponent in Font is also interesting considering Cejudo is on this card. So it could be argued a rematch between the 2 veterans would have made more sense given their past. Regardless Cruz’s return is an intriguing addition to UFC Seattle.
Other veterans are also plenty on the card. Fan favourite striker Edson Barboza taking on the upcoming Steve Garcia. Barboza, despite his age, has still been looking very good. Despite losing his last fight against Lerone Murphy he looked impressive holding his own and now we see if he still can hang at the top. Another vet Michael Chiesa is on the card however his opponent is yet to be announced.
New Blood at UFC Seattle
another veteran on the card is 205 vet Ion Cutelaba facing off against UFC new comer Ibo Aslan. Aslan is fresh off his UFC debut where he secured a round 1 TKO. This is certainly a big step up in comp for Aslan and is a great litmus test to see his level.
Another very fresh and exciting name on this card is Jean Silva one of the highly touted fighting nerds. He will be fighting another up another relatively new addition to the UFC Melsik Baghdasaryan. Silva has had a great run of finishes and is one of the hottest prospects at 155lbs.
Rizvan Kuniev is a new addition to the UFC’s heavyweight division and will be fighting Curtis Blaydes. This is a very hard fight for someone debuting in the UFC however the UFC need new heavyweight contenders. and if Kuniev gets through Blaydes we have a potential contender on our hands.
Raffael Cerqueira is also another 20 prospect on the card and lost his debut in the UFC against Ibo Aslan. He has a shot at redemption against Modestas Bukauskas who is on his 2nd run in the UFC.
170lb Chechen prospect Islam Dulatov will be making his debut against new comer Adam Fuggit. 185lb prospect Mansur Abdul-Malik is on the card having his 2nd fight in the UFC against Antonio Trocoli
Other fights also include Chidi Njokuani against a yet to be determined opponent. and, of course, a middleweight clash between Brendan Allen and rising prospect Anthony Hernandez. Hernandez has the chance to climb the rankings and establish himself as a real threat at 185. We also have Macy Chiasson vs Ketlen Viera to establish a number 1 contender as most likely Kayla Harrison will be fighting Julianna Pena for the 135 title. Chiasson is on an impressive run of form and a win here could get her a title shot.
Overall UFC Seattle looks to be very promising and we will be looking forward to watching it.
Featured image credits to Embed From Getty Images
