Former undisputed bantamweight and flyweight champion, Henry Cejudo appears to have performed a u-turn on a proposed second retirement from mixed martial arts competition, claiming he cannot “roll” with another exit from the sport following his title eliminator loss at UFC 298 last weekend.
Featuring in a high-profile main card slot, Los Angeles-born veteran, Cejudo suffered his second consecutive loss in the form of a one-sided unanimous decision loss to surging bantamweight contender, Merab Dvalishvili in the pair’s eye-catching scrap.
And ahead of the bout, Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling to boot, claimed he would likely call time on his career in mixed martial arts if he lost to Dvalishvili in Anaheim.
Henry Cejudo shuts down retirement plans
However, almost a week removed from the defeat to the Georgian – Cejudo has claimed he simply will refuse to bow out of the sport in that fashion, claiming he will not retire in the aftermath of UFC 298.
“I just cannot let it roll like this,” Henry Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “I just cannot. As much as it hurts. Again, guys, I take the L. But I cannot take the L knowing the way that I pretty much went out. I don’t mind the losing aspect of it. Maybe just the way that I did go – the being winded side, the not trying to knock this dude out because I was tired – I think that’s the stuff that really bothers me.”
“So, as of today, guys, I was getting ready to announce my [retirement] – a couple of days ago,” Henry Cejudo. “I literally did a whole video on my retirement, thanking my family, thanking my friends, thanking everybody who has been there.”
Prior to his decision loss to Dvalishvili, Cejudo dropped a close judging defeat to the Tbilisi native’s training partner and former bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling in the pair’s May championship fight last year.
Who do you want to see Henry Cejudo fight after UFC 298?