After losing his bantamweight belt to Aljamain Sterling, Henry Cejudo has been striving to back to the top of the division. But his last bout against Merab Dvalishvili ended in a miserable loss via a unanimous decision. Now, he is set to take on the 27-year-old Song Yadong at UFC Seattle, who also lost his last bout in the Octagon. Both of the fighters are striving to redeem themselves. But the hearts of the majority of the fighting world seem to want Cejudo’s victory. 

So without wasting any time, we decided to ask ChatGPT about the methods by which ‘Triple C’ could rise victorious on 22 February 2025. Let’s take a look at what the artificial intelligence chatbot had to say, shall we?

1. Wrestling dominance and ground control 

According to the AI, ‘Triple C’ would most likely win by a unanimous decision or TKO by ground and pound. Of course, being an Olympic medalist in wrestling, we can expect Cejudo to dominate the Octagon with his ground game. ChatGPT claimed that the former double champion would dive in for takedowns early on in the bout, and it will be pretty frequent. This would force Yadong to defend himself, giving him fewer chances to go for an attack. 

Well, if we take a look at the grappling stats, Henry Cejudo has a takedown accuracy of 32% and he tends to attempt 1.99 takedowns every 15 minutes. On the other hand, ‘Kung Fu Kid’ has a takedown accuracy of 40% and 0.66 takedowns attempted per 15 minutes. ‘Triple C’ boasts a takedown defense of 75% while that of his opponent is 72%. 

This means that Yadong has a high chance of defending himself from Cejudo’s submissions, and would likely give him a tough competition. But as per the AI, Cejudo can wear Yadong down early on with his dominant top control. This would make Yadong less explosive in the later rounds. Finally, the artificial intelligence predicted, “If Yadong struggles to defend, Cejudo could land ground-and-pound strikes for a TKO stoppage in the later rounds.” 

This wasn’t the only method of victory for ‘Triple C’ that OpenAI’s ChatGPT predicted. Needless to say, Cejudo majorly likes to finish his fights with a KO. Out of the 16 wins, he has won 7 bouts by KO/TKO and just 1 by submission. Let’s see what more the AI has to say.

2. Smart striking and pressure fighting

The second method for Cejudo’s victory would be a decision or late TKO. Yadong is pretty well-versed in the realm of striking. He sends 4.49 significant strikes per minute, out of which 43% are accurate shots. Cejudo sends forth 3.77 significant strikes in his bouts, but his striking accuracy is 46%. Not to mention, Cejudo has a good fight IQ and can defend himself from 60% of significant strikes sent his way. This can neutralize Yadong’s striking prowess. 

The AI wrote, “Expect Cejudo to use low kicks, quick jabs, and feints to disrupt Yadong’s rhythm.” The AI model further claimed that the former champ-champ would mix in striking and wrestling to force Yadong into a defensive mode. This would also make him hesitant to throw big punches, as per the AI. But the chances of submission wins were also present.

3. Clinch domination and dirty boxing

As per the artificial intelligence, ‘Triple C’ could also win by a submission via guillotine or rear naked choke. It claimed that if ‘Kung Fu Kid’ tried to put pressure on Cejudo, the former champion could go in for a clinch while landing short strikes and elbows. Taking the fight to the ground after that would be a piece of cake for him. And all he would have to do is wait for Yadong to make a hasty decision. The AI predicted, “If Yadong gets reckless in scrambles, Cejudo could lock in a guillotine or take the back for a submission finish.”

The final prediction by the AI? “Henry Cejudo wins via Unanimous Decision, using superior wrestling, clinch control, and well-timed striking. If he lands takedowns consistently, a third or fourth-round TKO via ground-and-pound is also possible.” However, the fight also had a fairly good chance of going in favor of the Chinese bantamweight prospect. 

In case Cejudo failed to secure an early takedown and got into a battle of strikes with Yadong, things could go wrong for the former Olympian. Being about 11 years younger than ‘Triple C’, Yadong can endure much more damage and inflict even more damage. And he’ll likely be much faster. But it’s worth noting that he lost his last bout against Petr Yan. Nevertheless, it’s nigh on impossible to accurately predict the outcome, because anything can happen in the Octagon. All we need to do is wait for Saturday night to find out ourselves. 

Who do you think would win the main event at UFC Seattle? Do you agree with the AI’s prediction? Drop down to the comments section and keep the conversation flowing.