Tag: Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo calls for grudge fight with Brandon Moreno at UFC 306 in stunning Las Vegas Sphere clash

Henry Cejudo calls for Brandon Moreno fight at UFC 306 in Las Vegas Sphere showdownFormer two-division champion, Henry Cejudo has urged recent UFC Mexico City headliner and former two-time flyweight titleholder, Brandon Moreno…

Henry Cejudo calls for Brandon Moreno fight at UFC 306 in Las Vegas Sphere showdown

Former two-division champion, Henry Cejudo has urged recent UFC Mexico City headliner and former two-time flyweight titleholder, Brandon Moreno to finally meet him inside the Octagon later this year – in the form of a Las Vegas Sphere showdown at UFC 306 in September.

Cejudo, a former undisputed bantamweight and flyweight champion, returned to the Octagon at UFC 298 earlier this month, suffering a second defeat straight for the first time in his professional career, in the form of a unanimous decision shutout loss to Merab Dvalishvili in the pair’s title-eliminator bout. 

As for Moreno, the Tijuana native headlined UFC Fight Night Mexico City over the course of the weekend, fighting to a close, split decision loss to two-time foe and former title chaser, Brandon Royval in the pair’s main event rematch.

Henry Cejudo calls for Brandon Moreno fight at UFC 306 

Staking his claim for another turn at bantamweight spoils in the future, Olympic gold medalist, Cejudo shut down plans for a second retirement from mixed martial arts – calling for a grudge fight with Moreno at the Las Vegas Sphere on Mexican Independence Day in September, with UFC 306 set to land at the venue.

“What fight would be better than Triple C vs. Brandon Moreno, the Mexican-American vs. the true Mexican, and they come together, and they do a five round showdown,” Henry Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “At the [Las Vegas] Sphere, in Las Vegas, for Mexican Independence Day. …Let’s do it, Mexican Independence Day. What you got? You gonna sign the contract? Are you a Mexican, or a Mexican’t?”

Returning from a 2020 retirement last year, Cejudo unsuccessfully challenged for the undisputed bantamweight title in a title charge against record-setting gold holder, Aljamain Sterling, dropping a split decision loss to the Uniondale native.

Would you like to see Henry Cejudo fight Brandon Moreno at UFC 306?

After canceling second retirement, Henry Cejudo eyeing fights with Sean O’Malley and Brandon Moreno

Henry CejudoHe’s not f*ckin’ leaving! Despite dubbing his UFC 298 meeting with Merab Dvalishvili as an “all or nothing” situation,…

Henry Cejudo

He’s not f*ckin’ leaving!

Despite dubbing his UFC 298 meeting with Merab Dvalishvili as an “all or nothing” situation, Henry Cejudo has reversed his decision to retire for a second time. Instead, the former two-division titleholder will look to bounce back inside the Octagon and he already has a couple of big names in mind.

“There’s still that (Sean) O’Malley fight,” Cejudo said in a video on his YouTube channel. “I still don’t think O’Malley’s going to get past ‘Chito.’ We could potentially headline something like that in Phoenix.”

O’Malley is currently scheduled to defend his bantamweight title against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in the UFC 299 headliner on March 9. Should ‘Sugar’ retain his title against the only make to have beaten him inside the Octagon, ‘Triple C’ already has a contingency plan in place.

“There’s that fight with Brandon Moreno,” Cejudo said. “There’s that bad blood that, you know, former training partners that were somewhat best friends leading up to the breakup, to having a good, nice little Mexican showdown for all you fans” (h/t MMA Junkie).

Will Cejudo Drop Down to Flyweight for Grudge Match with Moreno?

Cejudo has called for a clash with Moreno on more than one occasion after going their separate ways, though it’s unclear if he would be willing to drop down to flyweight to meet ‘The Assassin Baby’ for a potential grudge match. The last time Cejudo competed at 125, it was for a title defense against T.J. Dillashaw in 2019.

Moreno is scheduled to headline UFC’s return to Mexico on Saturday, February 24 against familiar foe Brandon Royval in the evening’s main event while Cejudo is fresh off a unanimous decision loss to the No. 1 ranked bantamweight contender in the world.

Cejudo has now lost back-to-back bouts since returning from a three-year-long layoff. ‘Triple C’ previously stated that a loss against ‘The Machine’ would send him back into retirement, but he has since rescinded the claim.

Henry Cejudo shuts down retirement after dominant UFC 298 defeat: ‘I just cannot let it roll like this’

Henry Cejudo shuts down retirement plans after UFC 298 loss I cannot let it roll like thisFormer undisputed bantamweight and flyweight champion, Henry Cejudo appears to have performed a u-turn on a proposed second retirement…

Henry Cejudo shuts down retirement plans after UFC 298 loss I cannot let it roll like this

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?

Dana White confirms Merab Dvalishvili will fight for the bantamweight title following UFC 298 win

Merab DvalishviliMerab Dvalishvili will face the winner of next month’s bantamweight title tilt between reigning champion ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley and…

Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili will face the winner of next month’s bantamweight title tilt between reigning champion ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley and No. 6 ranked contender Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.

‘The Machine’ earned his 10th straight victory at UFC 298 on Saturday night, scoring a decisive unanimous decision victory over former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. Following the evening’s festivities, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that Dvalishvili will be next in line for a shot at the 135-pound crown.

“He looked good tonight, man,” White said at the post-fight press event. “He did what he had (to do). In my opinion, you can’t take three years off in a combat sport. It’s never done well for anybody. Cejudo looked great in the first round. I thought he started to gas out in the second round. Merab just got stronger as the fight went on.”

Dana White reveals why cejudo didn’t get the mic following his loss to dvalishvili

As for Cejudo, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist vowed to retire should he come up short against Dvalishvili inside Anaheim’s Honda Center. By all accounts, ‘Triple C’ will stand by his words, but he was not given the opportunity to address the crowd following his loss.

“Henry Cejudo already retired,” White replied when asked why Cejudo did not get a post-fight interview. “He did the whole drop the gloves thing. Tonight was Merab’s night. Merab went in there and fought the No. 3 guy in the world — a former world champion — and he won easily. Tonight was Merab’s night. If he wants to retire again, he could do that here or somewhere else. You don’t give the mic to Cejudo — tonight was Merab’s night.”

If this truly is the end for Henry Cejudo (again), ‘Triple C’ will close out his career by going 10-4 under the UFC banner and 16-4 overall. As a former bantamweight, flyweight, and Olympic champion, Cejudo will be remembered as one of the greatest combat sports athletes of all time.