It was all but a certainty that Henry
Cejudo would retire for a second time if he lost to Merab
Dvalishvili at
UFC 298.
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Apparently Cejudo’s plans have changed.
After dropping a unanimous decision to Dvalishvili in a featured
bantamweight bout at UFC 298, the former two-division champion
recently confirmed that he will continue fighting in a video on his
YouTube channel.
“Was Dana White right that [I] did leave three years behind? Three
of [my] prime years? Yeah, I’ll give it to him. Recognizing it now,
the way that I did feel Saturday, the way that [the situation]
already kind of played out, you start to kind of psychologically
just like, ‘Damn, are these dudes right? I couldn’t have it any
other way?’” Cejudo said. “One, if I could change everything, I
probably would never come back — but now that I’m back, now I’ve
got to s—t where I sleep. And for that reason, man, I just cannot
go out like that.
“So I’m here today, ladies and gentlemen, taking my word back as a
man, confronting you guys, you the people, you my fans, you my
family, you my friends, you the haters, that I just cannot go out
like this. And guys, to say the least, it is far from over with the
Triple C.”
Cejudo ended a three-year retirement last May, when he dropped a
split-decision to Aljamain
Sterling at UFC 288. He started out well against Dvalishvili at
UFC 298, but faded over the final 10 minutes agianst the relentless
pace and pressure of his opponent. Cejudo previously stated that
his fight against Dvalishvili was an “all or nothing” situation.
“Saturday night, was it all or nothing for me? Yeah, and I meant it
– or did I really?” Cejudo said. “Have I truly been a hypocrite to
myself? The last time I lost two times in a row, I lost to Demetrious
Johnson and I lost to Joseph
Benavidez. I went down and I f—-ing created one of the biggest
rampages in UFC history. Avenging my loss to Demetrious
Johnson, beating T.J.
Dillashaw on EPO. Taking out No. 1 contender Marlon
Moraes and knocking the brakes, knocking the teeth out of
Dominick
Cruz.
“… What I’ve accomplished in combat sports has truly been second to
none. You guys may not like me. You may not like the schtick, you
may not like the persona, but one thing you will say is Henry
Cejudo has done s—t unachievable and has lived maybe about three
lifetimes in his actual life.”