Former UFC champ Henry Cejudo changes mind on retirement: 'I just cannot go out like this'
Henry Cejudo said he would walk away from the sport if he lost at UFC 298, but has decided to continue fighting.
Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo said he would walk away from MMA if he lost his last fight, but isn’t sticking to those words.
In the lead up to his UFC 298 bout against Merab Dvalishvili, Cejudo said in multiple interviews that he believed it would be time to hang up the gloves if he couldn’t get his hand raised. Cejudo ended up losing a unanimous decision to Dvalishvili, but after reassessing his career in the days that followed, he isn’t quite ready to call it a career.
After all, Cejudo has been here before. He retired inside the octagon after defeating Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in 2020, but decided to return to action last year.
“If I could change everything, I probably would never come back, but now that I’m back, I got to sh*t where I sleep,” Cejudo said in a video on his YouTube channel. “For that reason, I cannot go out like that. So I’m here today ladies and gentlemen, taking my word back as a man, confronting you guys, you the people, you my fans, you my family, you my friends, you the haters, that I just cannot go out like this. Guys, to say the least, it is far from over with the ‘Triple C.'”
Cejudo’s result at UFC 298 marked two consecutive losses, as he lost to Dvalishvili’s teammate and former champion Aljamain Sterling in his return fight at UFC 288 in May. It’s the second time in his career that Cejudo has dropped two in a row, but what followed after the first instance, set off an incredible winning streak.
“Saturday night, was it all or nothing for me? Yeah, and I meant it – or did I really?” Cejudo said. “Have I truly been a hypocrite to myself? The last time I lost two times in a row, I lost to Demetrious Johnson and I lost to Joseph Benavidez. I went down and I created one of the biggest rampages in UFC history. Avenging my loss to Demetrious Johnson, beating T.J. Dillashaw on EPO. Taking out No. 1 contender Marlon Moraes and knocking the brakes, knocking the teeth out of Dominick Cruz.
“… What I’ve accomplished in combat sports has truly been second to none. You guys may not like me. You may not like the schtick, you may not like the persona, but one thing you will say is Henry Cejudo has done sh*t unachievable and has lived maybe about three lifetimes in his actual life.”
Cejudo expressed frustration with being able to train properly for the fight against Dvalishvili, but did not want it to seem like he was taking away from his opponent’s performance. He’s also concerned that his left forearm may be broken. During the fight, it became severely swollen and there are still issues today.
“Triple C” will be keeping an eye on the division and other potential options outside of bantamweight, but his primary goal at the moment is to return to the win column in his next outing.