Henry
Cejudo claims to have pulled a fast one on the MMA community
during the UFC “Countdown” show.
Advertisement
During one of the episodes, Cejudo is shown
parting ways with longtime coach Eric Albarracin ahead of
UFC 298.
“You were with me for my last Olympic trials, and you’ve been there
for me, but as of right now, I just want to let you know that for
this camp, dude, I’m getting rid of specific coaches – and that’s
you included,” Cejudo said to Albarracin on the show.
What appeared to be a very public dismissal drew criticism from a
few prominent figures in the sport, including Alexander
Volkanovski, Ray Longo and Matt Brown.
However, Cejudo recently reunited with Albarracin in a video post
on Instagram, where both men claimed that the whole scene was an
elaborate prank.
“Bill Belichick-Tom Brady, Phil Jackson-Michael Jordan. Come on,
you think they would ever break up? Come on, man,” Albarracin said
in the video.
While Brady did actually leave Belichick and the New England
Patriots to win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the
fighter and coach were nonetheless trying to make it clear that
they were still a team.
“Just so you guys know, this is the greatest combat coach of all
time,” Cejudo said. “This is an unbreakable bond.”
However, Albarracin’s last statement made it unclear as to whether
he will be in Cejudo’s corner for his
UFC 298 bout against Merab
Dvalishvili. Albarracin is also working with Paulo Costa
for his fight with Robert
Whittaker.
“Let’s go, UFC 298, we’re taking over,” Albarracin said. “I’m going
to be sitting, drinking Team Secret Juice, [in the] front row,
watching Cejudo take out Merab
Dvalishvili, and stamp another title shot, become C4 [win four
UFC titles].”
The video ends with Cejudo walking away, while triumphantly saying
“Got ‘em” to indicate that the prank was a success.
UFC 298 takes place on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim,
California. The main card, which includes Cejudo vs. Dvalishvili,
airs on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.