WATCH: Henry Cejudo and coach unite to fool MMA community after infamous UFC Countdown firing

Henry Cejudo has come under a bit of fire for his recent prank on coach, Eric Albarracin.

WATCH: Henry Cejudo and coach unite to fool MMA community after infamous UFC Countdown firing

Before facing Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298, Henry Cejudo engages in a long gag (Source: Instagram; @henry_cejudo)

Henry Cejudo is just a few days away from returning to the Octagon at UFC 298. He meets Merab Dvalishvili at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. this weekend. This would be his first bounce back since a split decision skid to Aljamain Sterling. It was for the bantamweight gold at UFC 288. Now, the 135lber has a new ‘Triple C’ rule in mind; combat, caricature, and caper. Cejudo and his longtime coach Eric Albarracin pulled a fast one on the fight bubble this week.

During the UFC’s “Countdown” preview show, Cejudo parted ways with his longtime coach on live TV. Concurrently, Dvalishvili made a zesty move on the coach soon after the controversial firing on camera. New footage shows Cejudo and his coach arriving side by side for UFC 298’s pre-fight conference eve and camp assortment.

YouTube video

At the Fighter Hotel, in a video posted to Instagram, Albarracin said,

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Bill Belichick, Tom Brady. Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan. Come on, do you think they would ever break up? Come on, man...

With his hands wrapped around his coach, Henry Cejudo goes on to label him as “the greatest combat coach of all time“. He reflects on having an unbreakable bond. The video ended as Cejudo walked away, pointed to the cameras, and said, “Got ’em! Got ’em!”

Considering Cejudo is arguably at the end of his run, it was a credible enough thought. He even hinted at retirement recently, after UFC 298 should he fail to capitalize on Merab Dvalishvili. But as it turns out, “King of Cringe”  isn’t out of the fight just yet. In hindsight, a wise choice.

Why did Henry Cejudo recant his firing of Eric Albarracin?

With UFC 298 around the bend, the promotion has yet again taken to releasing its Fight Week video series blogs. This ranges from  UFC 298 “Countdown” to UFC 298 ‘Embedded,’ Vlog Series. In the former, an interaction between bantamweight Henry Cejudo and his coach recently took the fight community by storm.

Turns out firing Eric Albarracin was Henry Cejudo's idea of a joke. Or was it?
Turns out firing Eric Albarracin was Henry Cejudo’s idea of a joke. Or was it? (Source: IMAGO/Twitter)

Standing at 16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC, Cejudo meets 135lbs peer Merab Dvalishvili. However, ahead of this though, ‘Triple C’ sat down his coach and fired him in a somewhat blatant fashion. The huge public dismissal had drawn criticism from a few prominent peers and pundits. Including Alexander Volkanovski, Ray Longo, and Matt Brown. Volkanovski had even gibed at this practice of making ‘content’ out of firing his coach as a *sh*t’ move. The question on everybody’s mind was – Why did he fire his trainer right before UFC 298?

Turns out he didn’t. Concurrently, it has now been revealed that it was all a prank by Henry Cejudo and his coach Eric Albarracin. And now the question lies – why would they do that?

One could wonder if Cejudo reverted due to peer pressure though. However, it might just be a simple prank after all. It was unclear if Albarracin would be in Cejudo’s corner for his UFC 298 fight with Merab Dvalishvili based on his last statement. He is also working with Paulo Costa as he prepares to face Robert Whittaker. He added:

Let’s go, UFC 298, we’re taking over...I’m going to be sitting, drinking Team Secret Juice, [in the] front row, watching Cejudo take out Merab Dvalishvili, and stamp another title shot, become C4...

Only time will tell if any of these predictions hold, much like this pseudo-firing.

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