Henry Cejudo recently fired his longtime coach, Eric Albarracin.
That might get a passing mention under any other circumstance, but “Triple C” made the move while filming UFC 298 “Embedded” ahead of his Merab Dvalishvili fight, scheduled for this Sat. night (Feb. 17, 2024) at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
UFC 298 headliner Alex Volkanovski remains gobsmacked by the “crazy” stunt.
“Is that legit or what? Is this some weird way of marketing? I just don’t get it,” Volkanovski told Oscar Willis. “In front of the cameras, it’s just so weird. I thought it looked like he (Albarracin) was like taking it in. But, I mean, I don’t just don’t get it. I mean, you are absolute prick if you are doing that and just like, ‘This would be good content, I’m gonna make the most of this,’ and go out and do that.”
Albarracin told his Instagram followers the termination was “as real as it gets.”
“Henry, if this is legit, you are a piece of sh*t, let me tell you that right now,” Volkanovski continued. “That’s crazy to me. That’s why I don’t believe it. I don’t think he’s that much of a sh*tbag to do that. I don’t think he is. I don’t get it. Maybe it’s just … he’s just all about himself, full of himself, doesn’t care about anyone around him maybe, I don’t know.”
Volkanovski plans to confront Cejudo at the UFC 298 press conference.
It’s hard to tell what media is real versus what is preplanned to generate attention, something that has become increasingly attractive to top UFC stars in the age of digital influencers. Then again, this wouldn’t be the first time Cejudo did something “weird” for the sake of social media.
For much more on this weekend’s UFC 298 event click here.