“It is all or nothing” – Henry Cejudo admits fighting ‘down the ladder’ is disappointing and hints at retirement after UFC 298

Henry Cejudo teases possible second retirement if he loses at UFC 298.

“It is all or nothing” – Henry Cejudo admits fighting ‘down the ladder’ is disappointing and hints at retirement after UFC 298

Henry Cejudo ponders retirement is he loses out to Merab Dvalishvili (Source: IMAGO/Twitter)

Henry Cejudo takes on top bantamweight prospect Merab Dvalishvili on the main card of UFC 298 on Feb. 17. The Olympic gold medalist and former two-division UFC champ could soon make his final UFC appearance. It will be Cejudo’s second outing since coming out of retirement in 2023 and a split-decision skid to Aljamain Sterling in his previous bid for title contention. Even though after his UFC 288 loss, Cejudo went on a rant against UFC judge Derek Cleary; he knows otherwise. He feels he might not have that much skin in the game.

During a recent segment on the HJR Experiment with Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Frank Mir, he weighed in on his poverty-stricken harsh childhood. While the fighter has bounced back from great odds before, he feels they can be a bit much now. Pondering over a retirement, here’s what he had to say – 

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...
Henry Cejudo via HJR Experiment
YouTube video

That is of course, if he loses out to Dvalishvili, Sterling’s sparring partner. Cejudo meets the rival at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Sterling lost out the 135lbs title gold to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, with ‘Suga’ opting for a maiden defense against Marlon Vera. Cejudo thus nabbed this opportunistic moment to duke it out with Dvalishvili instead. O’Malley choosing #6 Vera instead of Dvalishvili or his partner had gained much negative traction from the fighters.

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But accordingly, Cejudo is ready to square it off with the rival for a title eliminator. Cejudo recently critiqued Sean Strickland and Alexander Volkanovski for opening up candidly; however, he himself is left to deliberate on his future in serious terms.

Henry Cejudo aspires at Sean O’Malley next in Phoenix for title contention

Henry Cejudo teased a potential comeback for years before returning from a three-year layoff to challenge Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288. However, he lost out that chance at the bantamweight title with the then-champion.

Henry Cejudo wants Sean O'Malley next in Phoenix, should he win at UFC 298
Henry Cejudo wants Sean O’Malley next in Phoenix, should he win at UFC 298 (Source: Twitter/IMAGO)

Cejudo faces off with Merab Dvalishvili next at UFC 298. He is left to wonder if he should retire after losing this one. That does not necessitate that he cannot dream big for the time being.

As such, he aims at Sean O’Malley’s bantamweight gold, should the latter keep it after his maiden defense. Here’s what Cejudo prompted, speaking at the HJR Experiment:

Henry Cejudo aims to fight it out with the champion in Phoenix, to grab the bantamweight gold. While Cejudo did critique ‘Suga’ on his wide berth of the lead-leg stance that can attract a slicer, he, however, lauds the competition. Even before winning the title, O’Malley had a wide reach and utilized it fully. And Cejudo aims to remain aware of it should they ever fight.

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