"TBF I can see why he didn't" - Fans defend Henry Cejudo after Tim Welch calls him out for allegedly turning down fights against pupils
Henry Cejudo will not be fighting Sean O'Malley in his next appearance but Tim Welch is still trying to pair one of his fighters with the former champion. Welch, one of the head coaches of The MMA Lab team, accused Cejudo of turning down offers with two athletes at his gym.
On the recent episode of the TimoSugaShow — which Welch co-hosts with O'Malley on the fighter's YouTube channel — the 34-year-old coach claimed Cejudo was offered a fight with both Mario Bautista and Kyler Phillips. According to The MMA Lab team, Cejudo rejected both fights.
Unlike most similar situations, many fans defended the decision of Cejudo and sided with 'Triple C.' Despite coming off back-to-back losses, many did not feel as if the offers were fair to the no. 5 ranked bantamweight.
One user commented:
"TBF I can see why he didn't"
Others wrote:
"Ya why would he accept either one of those fights"
"Colby and Henry the two biggest ducks in the game rn"
"As he should have"
"Stop offering him people nobody ever heard of maybe"
View more fan reactions to Tim Welch's statement on Henry Cejudo below:
![Fans react to Henry Cejudo rejecting fights with younger contenders [via @mma_orbit on X]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/05/3a624-17168466144920-1920.jpg?w=500)
Who did Henry Cejudo last beat in the UFC?
Since coming out of retirement in 2023, Henry Cejudo has struggled to regain his footing in the UFC, going 0-2 in two top-five battles. As a former two-division champion, 'Triple C' returned after three years off in a title fight with Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288.
Before his premature retirement, Cejudo rode a six-fight win streak that saw him claim both the UFC flyweight and bantamweight championships. At UFC 249, Cejudo defended the 135-pound title with a knockout win over Dominick Cruz and subsequently announced the end of his career.
As of May 2024, the win over Cruz in 2020 still stands as the most recent victory in Cejudo's career.
The 37-year-old is admittedly at the tail end of his fighting days and teased a potential retirement with a loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298. Though he wound up losing the fight, Cejudo changed his mind and announced that he would remain active.