UFC Fight Night 252 takes place this coming Saturday night in Seattle and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.
Main Card
Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong
Ex-double-champ Henry Cejudo returned after a three year break from the sport in 2023 and has since suffered back-to-back defeats. Resisting the urge to head back into retirement, Cejudo will instead now go up against Song Yadong, who had headed into last year with wins in five of his last six fights, before a decision defeat to Petr Yan.
Considering how long he spent away from the sport, Cejudo had less ring rust than you might expect when he headed straight into a bantamweight title fight with Aljamain Sterling back at UFC 288, only losing out by split-decision. However, last time out he did clearly come off second-best against Merab Dvalishvili, who showed no respect for the former Olympic wrestling gold medalist as he bested him on the feet and on the mat as he has done many others. And that could have been that for Cejudo, but he clearly still feels he has something left to prove, even though he’s recently turned 38-years-old.
Cejudo isn’t as fast as he used to be, but he still hits hard, has good boxing fundamentals and has a solid chin. And of course he is still a highly decorated wrestler, though it has now been 17 years since he won Olympic gold and he doesn’t utilize that skill-set as much as he once did. What Cejudo does have though is a lot of high-level experience, and he also has very good fight IQ and a strategic mind-set that can give him an edge over his opponets.
At 27-years-old, Yadong is over a decade younger than Cejudo and that should be evident in terms of his speed here, and he’ll also have a 4″ height and 3″ reach advantage too. He has assured, technical boxing that’s delivered with notable power and he will mix his combinations up with kicks too. He also pushes a good pace throughout his fights and stays relatively sound defensively. While he’s more than happy to just strike, Yadong can also look to wrestle at times, while he also has capable takedown defense and is capable of scrambling back to his feet if taken down.
Cejudo’s wrestling advantage could certainly be a big factor in the fight. And if this was 5+ years ago he would feel like the safer pick, but I’m not convinced that at this stage in his career he’ll be able to consistently take down Yadong and keep him there for extended periods over five rounds. Yadong will look to make the most of his height and reach advantage to keep Cejudo on the end of his hard-hitting strikes, and I think that will leave the former champ frustrated and with less left in the tank late on in the fight, leading to a decision win for Yadong.
Pick: Song Yadong wins by decision.
Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez
Brendan Allen’s decision loss to Nassourdine Imavov last year brought an end to a seven-fight unbeaten run in the Octagon. Now he’ll try to get back on the saddle in a rematch against Anthony Hernandez, who is looking to continue to build on his own six-fight winning streak.
Perhaps we should start with the 31-year-old Hernandez here given that he won the previous meeting between these two via unanimous decision in the LFA promotion in 2018 not long before joining the UFC. ‘Fluffy’ actually went on to suffer a couple of losses in his first three fights in the Octagon, but he’s now put that spell firmly in the rear-view mirror by going on a lengthy unbeaten run and continually exceeded expectations along the way. Hernandez fights at a fast pace both on the feet and on the mat. Striking wise he opts for a high-volume approach and has good durability, but he tends to shine more when he gets to the fight and goes to work with his tricky and relentless submission and scrambling ability.
Both fighters have certainly developed over the years, but it still feels like the overall dynamics of the stylistic match-up remain the same. The last time they fought it was largely a ground battle that saw Allen start brightly, but then Hernandez took over with what appeared to be a more crafty, confident and versatile grappling game that made him hard to control, and I think that will continue to prove to be the case here as he battles his way to another decision victory.
Pick: Anthony Hernandez wins by decision.
Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto
Rob Font was all set for a big showdown with Dominick Cruz at this event after beating Kyler Phillips by decision last year. However, Cruz suffered an injury that’s sadly led him to call time on his career and so now Font will be facing a late-replacement in Jean Matsumoto, who has gone 2-0 in the Octagon since joining from the Contender Series.
Font’s win over the in-form Phillips was a welcome confidence boost for the 37-year-old as he’d lost four out of five fights before that. There’s no shame in that though when you consider that even in defeat he still managed to take top talents like Jose Aldo, Marlon Vera, Cory Sandhagen and Deieveson Figueiredo to the scorecards. Font has honed his boxing well over the years, and his jab in particular is his most trusted weapon and can help him dictate fights. He’ll be aided in that regard here with a 2″ height and 3″ reach advantage and he has good hand speed and volume to wear down opponents, rather than being the kind of fighter whose looking for a one-punch KO finish. Font is capable of mixing in the occasional takedown, but his own takedown defense is suspect and he can come off second-best on the mat. That being said, he’s hard to submit and has never been finished via strikes.
The 26-year-old Matsumoto is a perfect 16-0 in his career so far and has settled well into life in the Octagon. He is a muay thai striker who likes to attack in combination and has a preference for engaging at close range. His defense can be suspect though and while he hits relatively hard he’s found finishes on the feet harder to come by over time. Matsumoto isn’t much of a wrestler but he can grapple and has proven to be a submission threat via the front headlock series in his career, including a guillotine finish in his UFC debut.
Matsumoto had to cut short a training camp for a fight next month to accept this 140lb catchweight fight, which is certainly not ideal. He’s also facing a tough, experienced veteran here and though we’re at the stage of Font’s career where he could start to decline sharply, he showed last time out that he’s still a threat, and I think he’ll conduct this fight behind his jab and win by decision.
Pick: Rob Font wins by decision.
Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
A trio of wins for Jean Silva in 2024 leads him into a clash with another former Contender Series fighter Melsik Baghdasaryan, who has three wins and a loss so far.
The 28-year-old Silva was finishing opponents via strikes with ease on the regional circuit, and he’s continued to do so since joining the UFC, with his three stoppage wins so far including handing Charles Jourdain his first knockout defeat and then a fortnight later TKO’ing Drew Dober. So clearly Silva has nasty knockout power, but he’s also fast, calculated and accurate, doing a good job of reading his opponents strikes and then countering with his own. Silva does like to keep his hands down low at times though and can get distracted interacting with his opponents in the heat of the battle. Silva benefits from having great balance and strong takedown defense though, and as an added deterrent he will attack with hard elbows, uppercuts and also threaten with guillotine chokes at close quarters.
Though the 33-year-old Baghdasaryan has a similar UFC record to Silva, he’s actually been with the promotion for three years longer, but has been repeatedly held back by injury woes. Baghdasaryan was a pro-kickboxer who had a few fights for K1 before switching his focus to MMA. As you’d expect then he has good striking technique and will be a threat via his active offense and well executed head kicks. Baghdasaryan’s game is quite one-dimensional though as he’s not got much to offer on the mat, and both his career losses have come via decision.
This should be an an enjoyable match-up on the feet, but I do like the way Silva operates with his ability to pressure opponents while avoiding their strikes and then landing his own harder-hitting blows, and together with having the advantage on the mat if required I’m taking him to emerge with a 2nd round TKO victory here.
Pick: Jean Silva wins by TKO in Rd2.
Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker
A nightmare 2024 saw Alonzo Menifield KO’d twice in a row, but now he faces a debuting fighter in the 6-0 Julius Walker in a fight put together on a weeks notice.
The 37-year-old Menifield was originally expecting to fight the undefeated Oumar Sy in a months time, and on paper that was a more daunting challenge, but the catch is he has much less time to train for this weekend’s fight. Menifield will be looking to make the most of the opportunity though to try to banish the bitter taste of having been KO’d by Carlos Ulberg in 12 seconds and then knocked out again by Azamat Murzakhanov just three months later. Time will tell if that means Menifield’s chin has gone, but he’ll take some heart from the fact that he’s usually been quite durable in the past. Menifield has a stocky, muscular frame and has the punching power to go along with it, while he can also deliver solid kicks too. Given his physique and tendency towards finishing fights it’s perhaps not surprising that he’s had cardio issues at times, but he’s tried to address that by fighting at a more measured pace. Menifield prefers to strike, but he’s not out of his element on the mat and has heavy ground-and-pound and the ability to pick up an occasional submission win.
The 25-year-old Walker fought on the amateur scene for a while, but is only two years into his pro-career, during which time he’s amassed a 6-0 record. He’s a long-limbed fighter, which will afford him a 4″ height and 5″ reach advantage here, and he’ll use that to leverage straight punches and low kicks. Walker will also seize on opportunities to work for takedowns and he has good ground-and-pound on top, together with a developing submission game, but defensively he struggles to prevent takedowns and gives up his back a bit too willingly. That’s something he might be able to get away with at a regional level, but could well be punished in the UFC.
This is a big step up for the relatively inexperienced Walker on short-notice, so while he’s always got a chance given Menifield’s durability issues of late, I still think the experienced veteran has the striking advantage here and will topple the taller man before mauling him with ground-and-pound for a 2nd round TKO finish.
Pick: Alonzo Menifield wins by TKO in Rd2.
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
