Former double champ Henry Cejudo threatens retirement, says it's all or nothing at UFC 298
Henry Cejudo made his return to the octagon in 2023 when he was defeated by Aljamain Sterling via split decision at UFC 288 after spending the previous three years retired. The No.3-ranked bantamweight will face Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298, with a title opportunity likely on the line.
'Triple C' recently revealed that if he is unable to defeat the No.1-ranked bantamweight, he will likely retire once again.
Speaking on The HJR Experiment, Cejudo stated:
"This is for the No.1 contender spot. I think after losing to Aljamain, I think if I was going to go maybe down the ladder, I would probably be done with fighting again. Yeah, man, because it's just like, this sport is hard, man. Training camps, having two kids and things like that... It's all or nothing, man."
Cejudo added that he is fueled by vengeance after his loss to Sterling:
"It's more of a motivation of vengeance. You know what I'm saying? It's not always the love. Like, no not really, man... Even coming back to the sport, I was like, 'alright, man, I want to test myself, I like the matchup, it has been three years', but it was also the financial compensation. I mean, there's nothing easier to make money than the fight game."
Check out Henry Cejudo's comments on retiring if he loses to Merab Dvalishvili below (starting at the 0:39 mark):
Cejudo is one of just four fighters in UFC history to achieve double champ status, defending both belts. He vacated the bantamweight title upon his retirement and fought for the belt in his return. The No.3-ranked bantamweight is hoping to make one final title push before calling it quits on a legendary combat sports career that also includes an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling.
Henry Cejudo believes Belal Muhammad is "stylistically" the closest to Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov had a legendary mixed martial arts career, finishing with an undefeated 29-0 record en route to the UFC Hall of Fame. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Henry Cejudo recently claimed that Belal Muhammad is the fighter that reminds him of 'The Eagle', stating:
"Stylistically, the way that Belal Muhammad – what he did to Gilbert Burns and how he did it to him, he's only gotten better and I will say this, man, the closest person to a guy like Khabib Nurmagomedov, his name is actually Belal Muhammad. They do the same kind of cross steps. They kind of run and shoot. They do the same kind of feints with that lead hand to eventually level change for the takedown."
Check out Henry Cejudo's comparison of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Belal Muhammad below (starting at the 0:54 mark):
Cejudo claimed that Muhammad would present a tough challenge for Leon Edwards as he has improved tremendously since their first meeting. They previously clashed in 2021, with the bout ending in a no-contest after an accidental second-round eye poke rendered the No.2-ranked welterweight unable to continue.