After a 12-year hiatus, the UFC returned to Seattle, Wash. this past Saturday, and it did not disappoint. The former double champ Henry Cejudo returned to the octagon to take on popular 27-year-old bantamweight contender Song Yadong in a five round Main Event fight. For the domain event, Anthony “Fluffy” Hernandez returned to action to take on fellow ranked middleweight contender Brendan Allen in a three-round bout. This card had plenty of other notable names like rising stars Jean Matsumoto, Ibo Aslan and Puerto Rican veteran Rob Font.
Following a total of seven cancelled fights, UFC Seattle still found a way to sell out the Climate Pledge Arena and be one of the most entertaining Fight Nights so far this year. What UFC fans go crazy for is a finish, whether it’s a knockout or submission. This weekend, there were a total of 12 fights combined between the main card and preliminary fights; eight out of the 12 bouts ended via knockout or submission. The prelims consisted of seven total fights leading up to the main card, and not a single one of them entered the third round, let alone went to the judges’ scorecards for decision. The one finish on the main card came from the fighting nerd himself, Jean Silva. After a historic night that saw an astounding 67% finish rate, here are some of the best finishes.
Ion Cutelaba vs. Ibo Aslan
This three-round light heavyweight bout was supposed to be a step up in competition for Aslan, who held a career record of 14-1 and was riding a six KO/TKO win streak into the fight.
Aslan was a -220 favorite, set to take on veteran Ion Cutelaba, who was 2-3 in his last five fights, owning a career record of 18-10-1. Both of these athletes are notorious for their knockout power and were expected to come into this fight hunting for a win by knockout. However, there was also a high possibility that this fight would eventually reach the ground.
While Cutelaba is a striker with a history of wins by KO/TKO, he also has a wrestling background. If he was looking to take this fight to the ground, it was going to be a huge test for Aslan’s wrestling and takedown defense. The bell rang to start the first round, and these two men wasted no time delivering devastating blows to each other. It was not until 2:52 in the first when Cutelaba threw a huge right hand, stunning Aslan. This led to Cutelaba immediately shooting a double leg takedown and quickly locking in the arm triangle to secure the win by submission.
Ricky Simon vs. Javid Basharat
The three-round bantamweight bout was held between 32-year-old Ricky Simon and 29-year-old betting favorite Javid Basharat. Simon held a 20-6 record before this fight and was off the heels of three straight losses to ranked contenders Song Yadong, Mario Bautista and rising star Vinicius Oliveira.
Heading into this matchup, Basharat was 3-1-1 in his last five, most recently coming off a unanimous decision loss. Looking to find his way back into the win column, he matched up with Simon and his aggressive striking style. Three years younger and three inches taller, Basharat had some advantages coming into this fight. However, when he got into the octagon, the fight did not end as he hoped. After out-striking Simon 21 to 18 in total strikes and 20 to 11 in significant strikes, it looked like Basharat had taken the first round.
Nevertheless, with 1:05 left in the first round, Simon threw a beautiful one-two and connected with a huge right hook that knocked Basharat out cleanly. After a couple of hammer fists, the referee called an end to the fight via KO/TKO. One huge connection and one big underdog victory for Simon.
Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
One of the most anticipated matchups on this Fight Night card was the featherweight bout between fan-favorite Jean Silva and Melsik Baghdasaryan. Coming into this fight, most fans had a feeling Silva was going to add another win to his resume, but how? The rising star came into this fight riding a three-fight UFC win streak, all by the means of KO/TKO, and was looking to improve with yet another win.
Baghdasaryan’s most recent fight came in July 2023, and after an almost two-year absence, he was tasked with stopping one of the best UFC featherweight prospects in the world. After a one-sided first round, it looked as if Baghdasaryan was going to survive and go into the second down 10-9 on the judge’s scorecard.
However, Silva planned otherwise. With 55 seconds left in the round, he threw a brilliant one-two, connecting with a powerful right hand, dropping Baghdasaryan to the ground. Silva believed that was all that was needed to end the fight, but UFC Referee Kevin Macdonald argued otherwise. Silva quickly got on top of Baghdasaryan and after a couple seconds of ground and pound, Macdonald called a stop to the fight, declaring Silva the winner by KO/TKO.