UFC Seattle, Rookie Report

You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!

UFC is back in “Rain City” for UFC Seattle this weekend (Sat., Feb. 22, 2025) for the first time since July 2013 and it all goes from inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. While the card has gotten decimated over the last few weeks, former double champion Henry Cejudo headlines the ‘Fight Night’ against Song Yadong (check out the entire card here).

Four fighters are making their Octagon debuts this weekend — let’s meet the crew.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Julius Walker

Weight Class: Light Heavyweight

Age: 25

Record: 6-0

Julius Waker makes his debut on the UFC Seattle main card against No. 15-ranked Alonzo Meinfield on short notice. That’s not bad, huh?

“Juice Box” (learn about his nickname) has only trained professionally for five years and went pro in 2023. However, as a former college basketball player, the guy is very athletic, which will take him far in a Light Heavyweight division that isn’t really glamorous at the moment.

Nevertheless, Walker is extremely green in mixed martial arts (MMA). He is flashy, has deceptive power, and his grappling is pretty good, even though he has only been in the sport for five years.

He can sometimes put himself in dangerous positions, which can be concerning, but for the most part, he is defensively sound.

Will UFC jitters get to him? Can he catch an aging Menifield, who seems like he has regressed? Can he eat a Menifield punch?

These are all answers that could be answered this weekend.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Austin Vanderford

Weight Class: Welterweight

Age: 34

Record: 12-2

In 2018, on season two of Contender Series, Austin Vanderford got snubbed of a UFC contract when he strangled his opponent in the second round. If that finish happened anytime past season four, he would have automatically signed because … Dana signs just about any finish nowadays.

“The Gentleman” ended up signing with Bellator, where he competed seven times, amassing a solid record of 5-2 in the process, only losing to Gegard Mousasi (watch highlights) and Aaron Jeffery. After losing those two fights, he got released, took two years off, dropped back down to Welterweight, and slaughtered Victor Romero in Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA).

Vanderford is a very good fighter. Will he be a contender? No, but he will do well in the UFC. He is an excellent wrestler, and his grappling is very good. He’s a bully when he gets his opponent down, and for the most part, they do not get up.

He did get a knockout in his last outing, but boxing is not his forte, and if he chooses to stand with his opponent Nikolay Veretennikov, he could very well be looking up at the ceiling by the end of the fight.

My only knock on him is his chin. He got stopped twice in Bellator, which was at Middleweight, so dropping down to Welterweight as a big dude can’t be great for his durability.

Let’s go, Mr. Paige VanZant!

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Nick Klein

Weight Class: Middleweight

Age: 29

Record: 6-1

Nick Klein received a contract on season eight of Contender Series when he tapped in 37 seconds on short notice.

“Blue Collar” is a submission specialist and is very dangerous when he gets his opponent down to the ground, but that’s as far as I can go with him until he shows some sort of evolution.

Klein will throw leg kicks and jabs to keep his opponents at range and then shoot. That’s it. That’s his game.

He is the biggest underdog on this card at +650, and there’s a reason for that. He’s fighting Mansur Abdul-Malik, an absolute freak athlete with devasting ground and pound.

Klein’s only chance in this fight is catching a quick submission or outlasting the onslaught that Abdul-Malik will bring and down him in the later rounds.

That’s not going to happen.

Oh, and he’s also looking to exact revenge for his teammate, Wes Schultz, who Abdul-Malik finished on the same season of Contender Series that he won his contract on.

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Eric McConico

Weight Class: Middleweight

Age: 34

Record: 9-2-1

Eric McConico received the call to compete in UFC Seattle on short notice last Thursday, a day before he was scheduled to headline Tuff-N-Uff 141 in Las Vegas.

The MMA Lab product is a solid fighter who does everything well but really excels in wrestling. This is something that will be interesting in his upcoming matchup with Nursulton Ruziboev, who was grappled to death by Joaquin Buckley in his last outing.

If McConico can get his hands on Ruziboev and grind him in the cage, he has a good chance to make this fight dirty and tire his 6’5″ opponent out.

McConico is known for being patient and picking his shots, and if he does this, it will be a short night because Ruziboev is quick and powerful with one-punch knockout power.

This fight goes one of two ways: McConico will either go to sleep in the first round or grind out a grimy decision.

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Seattle fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Seattle news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Cejudo vs. Song” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.