Preview: UFC Seattle ‘Cejudo vs. Song’

Featherweights

Jean Silva (14-2, 3-0 UFC) vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-2, 3-1 UFC)

ODDS: Silva (-575), Baghdasaryan (+425)

This pairing has the potential for fireworks, so perhaps it lives up to that billing. Silva enjoyed an unexpected breakout campaign in 2024, as he looked solid if not spectacular in earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series a year prior. The Brazilian was obviously a powerhouse of an athlete, but his approach could be overly patient in terms of picking his spots, which ran the risk of him minimizing his effectiveness going forward. Instead, Silva turned things up just a bit and, in the process, showed the kind of fight-changing power that could thrust him into title contention. It wasn’t a shock that he quickly dispatched Westin Wilson in his UFC debut, but he followed that up by marching through the historically durable Charles Jourdain; and just two weeks later, he moved up to lightweight to win a war of attrition against Drew Dober. At worst, Silva has now established himself as someone who can bring a high level of violence to any willing dance partner, but it will be fascinating to see just how far up the ladder his power can carry him. In the grand scheme of things, that makes this matchup against Baghdasaryan a bit of a surprise.

Baghdasaryan is a talented featherweight but also a bit of a step back for Silva at this point, even if the confrontation itself is interesting. Baghdasaryan is a former kickboxer who got fast-tracked to the UFC via a weak level of competition, and “The Gun” had some obvious upside upon hitting the big time. Like Silva, he can be a bit choosy in picking his spots, but he hits extremely hard and has been able to dictate range with his dynamic kicking game. The hope was that Baghdasaryan would be able to learn on the job and round things out while keeping up an active schedule, but instead, the opposite has happened, with constant injuries derailing the Armenian’s momentum. In fact, this marks the second time in his last three fights that Baghdasaryan is returning from a year-plus layoff. As it is, Baghdasaryan is highly effective in a few slices of range and when given time and space to work, but there’s a solid level of worry about his ability to maintain a high pace or handle himself against better wrestlers if those matchups come to fruition. The good news is that while Silva represents Baghdasaryan’s toughest test to date in the aggregate, this isn’t a matchup that figures to test any of those weaknesses. Silva is also a striker by trade and doesn’t always press the fastest pace. With that said, Silva does figure to be the harder hitter and the more willing fighter to press the issue, but this might not be the fast-paced barnburner that some might expect. The pick is Silva via decision.

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Cejudo vs. Song
Hernandez vs. Allen
Font vs. Matsumoto
Silva vs. Baghdasaryan
Menifield vs. Walker
The Prelims