Henry Cejudo isnāt trying to go out on a loss.
The former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion ended his mixed martial arts (MMA) retirement when he challenged Aljamain Sterling for Bantamweight gold at UFC 288 in May 2023. Unfortunately for Cejudo, he came up short via a split decision before going on to suffer a unanimous decision loss to the upcoming title challenger, Merab Dvalishvili.
Cejudo, 37, has called for possible opponents since his Dvalishvili loss but has revealed heās been dealing with a nagging injury. Thanks to the delay, the Bantamweight contention line has grown longer with Umar Nurmagomedov and Deiveson Figueiredo emerging as the likely top two next up. Therefore, donāt count out a Cejudo return to the first division he won UFC gold in.
āThere could be a potential return at Flyweight,ā Cejudo told MMA Junkie. āThese are a lot of things Iām contemplating, potentially going back down. With the Bantamweight division getting hot and with the newcomers coming in, thereās been a lot of thought of me going back down and getting a fight with [Brandon] Moreno and winning the belt once again. Thereās a lot of cool stuff. These are kind of things I really want to think about and really decide once I get home and once Iām injury-free. Itās just one little thing, but itās a major thing. Because Iām going to be making a commitment to go out there and just do another run, do another run at these titles, and dedicate myself like I was before.ā
Although heās clearly toward the tail-end of his career after already retiring once, Cejudo doesnāt just want to take any fun fights or ālegacyā match ups. The two-time Olympic gold medalist has always targeted proving heās the very best in the world, and that hasnāt changed.
āIām after gold now. I think if I do go down to 125 pounds and stay disciplined, I donāt think thereās anyone that can beat me,ā Cejudo said. āPlus, I think thereās a fun fight with Brandon Moreno. He wanted to fight me at 135 and then he backed out like a little b*tch. Now, I think if I go down and I beat him in Mexico, in his own country, I think that could be a big-ass payday, too.
āI donāt want to be fighting people just to fight people,ā he continued. āI want to get close to that belt. I think thatās the position that I fall in right now. ā¦ If itās something that I do decide to do, the biggest thing for me is going to be discipline and taking myself back there once again. It is the weight cut. But at the same time, Iāve been thinking about it. Itās what I need. Maybe I need more discipline. Maybe I needā¦ if the bar is set that high, that means I have to have more commitment on that side.ā
his greatest opponent will be against home cooked Mexican food.
He should have never taken that extended break prior to his losing to Aljermaine.
I think it was a ploy
That backfired.
He expected fans and the UFC to clamour for his return and that he would get a kings ransom and a heroās return
Turned out nobody really gave a fuck.
this is how I took it^^
Youāre probably right but the earning window in fighting is small , that dummy missed out on some big paydays while still in prime.
Yup
He also underestimated how active you need to be in fighting.
I think he should do itā¦then watch as he loses to the scale. Another chapter in his failed comeback journey.
i agree that he totally misplayed his career. Left during his peak as a champ and got nothing to show for it on his return lol
Someone as short as Henry should have ZERO problem getting down to 140-150 lbs. Once there the cut to 125 shouldnāt be too hard
I think it was both.
I think he was burnt out at the time and probably just needed a year off but then thought he could social media his way to a big pay day return ā¦and everyone just kind of shrugged.