Henry Cejudo suffers facial injury ahead of UFC 288 comeback fight against Aljamain Sterling
Henry Cejudo will make his much anticipated return to the octagon in May at UFC 288, three years after relinquishing his double-champ status. 'Triple C' appears to have suffered a cut under his left eye, which was evident in the latest video on his YouTube channel. The cut has some swelling around it, but the wound seems to be stitched up and en route to recovery.
It looks like Cejudo is well on his way to fighting Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288, on May 6th, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Henry Cejudo gave his thoughts on the bantamweight division in the latest episode of his YouTube podcast/analysis channel. Here's what 'Triple C' said:
"135 pounds! Guys, it's been very very [shaky] - it's been shuffling quite a bit. Merab Dvalishvili - and now you have the event that happened [after the Dvalishvili vs. Yan fight] with 'Chito' Vera and the beatdown that Cory Sandhagen gave 'Chito' Vera. I mean, where does this leave a guy like Sean O'Malley? [0:43 onwards]
"Is he just going to wait for a title shot? Personally, I want [to fight] Sean O'Malley, and you know why? There's a bunch of pay-per-view points and I'm here to make money, ladies and gentlemen."
'Triple C' beat Dominick Cruz to retain his bantamweight title at UFC 249, in May 2020, and announced his retirement in his post-fight speech. He will now face Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title in his comeback fight.
The event will be co-headlined by Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira, who will possibly fight for title contention at lightweight. The event will also feature the return of Kron Gracie, son of the famed Rickson Gracie, as he faces Charles Jourdain in his third promotional fight.
The champ champ champ is back! #UFC288 #AndNew 🏆🏆🏆 https://t.co/AR2vF1aJR0
"He won the [title] bout via Academy Award" - Henry Cejudo rips Aljamain Sterling in interview with DC
There is no love lost between former two-division champion Henry Cejudo and current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. 'Triple C' and 'Funkmaster' went head-to-head in an interview with former two-division champ Daniel Cormier.
Sterling and Cejudo went at each other, constantly talking over each other, with Cormier unable to effectively moderate the interview. Henry Cejudo didn't hold back when it came to shaming the Jamaican-American champion. Here's what Cejudo said:
"He won the bout [and the title against Petr Yan] via Academy Award. He won the second fight [against Yan] via, I don't know what it was, judges' guilt. And then he couldn't beat a guy that I beat in 32 seconds on EPO. And it took him freaking almost two rounds to get the little one [TJ Dillashaw] with one arm!
"DC, I'm a different cat. I beat Demetrious Johnson, I beat the greatest bantamweight of all time in Dominick Cruz. I beat a dude on EPO. I got rid of Marlon Moraes [and] knocked him the h*ll out."
Skip to 9:20 for Henry Cejudo thrashing Aljamain Sterling: