“Permanent damage to vision” – Henry Cejudo graphic eye injury sparks shocking admission from UFC legend

Jim Miller talks about the frequency of eye pokes in the UFC after the latest Henry Cejudo incident at UFC Seattle.

“Permanent damage to vision” – Henry Cejudo graphic eye injury sparks shocking admission from UFC legend

Jim Miller shares his opinion on Henry Cejudo's eye poke incident (via MMA Fighting/X)

The main event of UFC Seattle between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong didn’t go as many fans had expected. The bantamweight five round fight ended in a controversial way, with the Chinese national taking the win. ‘Triple C’ got poked in the eyes, and it has started a new debate surrounding the severity of the injury.

After the incident took place in the third round, the doctor stopped the fight as Henry Cejudo was unable to see from his left eye. Later, the former double champion shared pictures of his eye, which caught the attention of UFC legend, Jim Miller. The veteran tweeted about it on his account and shared his opinion on frequent eye pokes in UFC fights.

If only humans could control their fingers, then these accidents wouldn’t keep happening… I’ve been poked twice in fights, and both caused permanent damage to my vision. Will it take someone losing an eye before pokes start being penalized?

Jim Miller via X 
YouTube video

Miller has been in the fighting business for a long time and has competed in several wars with top lightweights. Over the years, he has had injuries and eye-poke multiple times, particularly at UFC Vegas 69. He lost the fight and had to go through surgery to fix his right eye. 

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Eye pokes are extremely common in UFC, and often change the entire outcome of fights. Last year at UFC 302, the promotion introduced new gloves to reduce eye pokes but they turned out to be a failed venture. Unfortunately for Cejudo, he had to experience one of the most nasty eye pokes in recent times.

UFC coach ridicules Henry Cejudo for giving up at UFC Seattle 

Going into the fight, Henry Cejudo was confident about getting a win against Song Yadong. Initially in the fight, both looked sharp with Yadong connecting more often, but getting tagged at the same time. The former champion was landing heavy shots until the eye poke happened. 

Henry Cejudo couldn't see after the eye poke at UFC Seattle
Henry Cejudo couldn’t see after the eye poke at UFC Seattle (via MMA Fighting)

Referee Jason Herzog gave Cejudo a total of five minutes to recover, but didn’t deduct any points from Yadong’s scoreboard. After the fight was called off, instead of a no-contest, Yadong was announced the winner. Top UFC coach, Tim Welch, also commented on Cejudo’s performance in a sneaky tweet.

Henry knew he had nothing left for Song.

Tim Welch via X

UFC CEO Dana White also had a similar sentiment towards the fight. He didn’t expect Cejudo to quit and talked about how fights normally continue after getting eye poked. But many fans assumed that the comments were a result of his already severed relationship with Cejudo.

Related: UFC Top 5 ‘Knockouts of the Year’ 2024