“He hates Cejudo so much” – Dana White denying Henry Cejudo any mic time for ‘second retirement’ at UFC 298 has fans riled up

The recent UFC 298 event saw a lot of drama as well as exciting fights. The post-UFC 298 press conference was no exception to this. UFC CEO Dana White had refused to grant Henry Cejudo any post-fight octagon interview time following his loss to Merab Dvalishvili.

The UFC CEO was asked why Cejudo wasn’t given the mic time. White argued that Cejudo didn’t deserve another retirement moment after Merab Dvalishvili outpointed him. White gave his reason for this stance, saying that Cejudo already had his retirement in 2020 after beating Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. This event was headlined by Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje. This is what White said:

Henry Cejudo already retired. He did the whole 'drop the gloves' thing. Tonight was Merab's night. Merab went in there and fought the number three guy in the world, a former world champion. He won easily... If he wants to retire again, he can do it here or someplace else. You don't give the mic to Cejudo tonight.

Dana White via UFC 298 post-fight press conference

Normally, all main card fighters participate in post-bout interviews with a commentator inside the octagon. However, White had made the call to deny Cejudo that interview opportunity. White believed the spotlight should remain on Dvalishvili’s career-best victory over a former champion. Letting Cejudo retire again would have distracted fans from Dvalishvili’s triumph.

Cejudo had held two UFC belts simultaneously. But he proceeded to retire in his UFC 249 post-fight speech, leaving both titles vacant. Cejudo later confirmed he didn’t plan to retire after the UFC 298 defeat. But White wasn’t aware of that during the event.

Fight fans reacted to Dana White denying Henry Cejudo the mic time after UFC 298 loss

Dana White recently received criticism from fight fans for denying Henry Cejudo a post-fight interview at UFC 298. Cejudo had fallen short against Georgian fighter Merab Dvalishvili and lost via a unanimous decision.

Fight fans rushed to social media to offer their opinions on the topic. Many people viewed White’s decision to deny Cejudo the microphone as unjust and rude. They believed the UFC’s CEO insulted the former two-division champion. Others thought this was acceptable because it would have detracted from Merab’s victory. Here are some of the responses of fight fans:

The MMA community poorly appreciated white’s unilateral action. This circumstance contributed to the idea that White favors particular UFC stars. 

In case you missed it:

• WATCH: “The chills this gave me” – Ilia Topuria and Merab Dvalishvili receiving UNREAL support from Georgians in streets has fans in awe
• WATCH: “Better not be punished for this” – Michael Bisping says ‘f**king gay’ during UFC 298 ESPN live broadcast leaving fans in splits

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