Eye pokes have long been one of the most frustrating and controversial issues in the UFC. Despite numerous high-profile fights being affected by accidental eye gouges, the problem persists, often leaving fighters with compromised vision, no-contests, or even career-altering injuries. The latest victim of eye pokes was Henry Cejudo during his fight with Song Yadong.

As the third round against Song Yadong played out, Cejudo took not one, but two fingers directly to the eye—a brutal, fight-altering moment that halted the fight. A devastating turn of events that completely shifted the fight’s momentum and brought it to an abrupt end. Now, the former champ-champ is left dealing with double vision—and an even greater dose of frustration.

So why was the 27-year-old awarded the victory this time around? Well, Big John McCarthy has the answer for you. He and Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson took to their ‘Weighing In’ podcast and shared their opinion. He said, “Once he enters into the fourth round now he can go to what is a technical decision. He can go to the scorecards. And since he had three rounds completed that was the right call for him to do.

“You don’t want if it was if that if the eye poke had happened in the second round then it would have probably ended up as a no-contest which is I guess better for Henry but it’s not better for the sport. It’s not better for the UFC as a whole. You want people to move forward. You want to have a winner in the fight.”, McCarthy added.

Remember the first fight between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad? Remember when that fighting ended in a no-contest after an accidental eye poke from the former champion? Similar, but different? Yes, because in the first meeting between ‘Remember the Name’ and ‘Rocky’, the eye poke by the Birmingham native happened in the second round at UFC Fight Night 187. However, in Sunday’s Fight Night event, the bantamweight duo fought for three rounds, and the eye poke happened in the fourth.

Although referee Jason Herzog initially allowed the fight to continue, Cejudo’s visible discomfort led to a doctor’s evaluation, ultimately resulting in the fight being stopped. With three rounds in the books, the judges’ scorecards sealed the outcome—Song took the victory with scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 30-27. After the fight, debate sparked over whether Song Yadong should have been penalized for the eye poke. But when Dana White was asked about it at the post-fight press conference, he didn’t mince words.

Dana White shares honest opinion about Henry Cejudo-Song Yadong eye-poke controversy

Henry Cejudo stepped into UFC Seattle determined to snap his losing streak and mount one last title run. In a lighthearted moment at the weigh-ins, he cracked open a fortune cookie that predicted a fourth-round TKO victory. But destiny had other plans. The fight did reach the fourth round, but instead of a knockout, it ended in controversy.

Cejudo suffered an accidental double eye poke from Song Yadong and took the full five minutes to recover, but his vision never fully cleared. Ultimately, the ringside doctor stepped in, bringing the fight to a premature end and awarding Yadong a technical decision win.

The Seattle crowd didn’t take the decision well, letting their frustration be known. They had already booed Cejudo mercilessly earlier in the fight when he used the full recovery time. Some critics even accused ‘Triple C’ of pushing past the initial five-minute window only to later claim he couldn’t see, sparking further controversy. Dana White also didn’t seem too impressed with the way the ended but feels the 27-year-old was not wrong in the process.

The UFC head honcho promptly refuted that the eye poke was nowhere close to deliberate. He said, “Do you think it was intentional? Why would he poke him in the eye? He was doing pretty well.” The UFC CEO also made it clear that he has no plans to hand Cejudo a rematch despite the controversy surrounding the fight. Do you think ‘Triple C’ deserves a rematch after his loss against Song Yadong? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.