“Far from over” – Henry Cejudo shifts focus to Merab Dvalishvili and shuts down retirement rumors
Former Double Champ Henry Cejudo demands UFC president to fight against Merab Dvalishvli, shuts down all the retirement rumors
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Henry Cejudo and Merab Dvalishvili (Image via Bloody elbow/MMA Fighting)
After losing the title fight against Aljamain Sterling, Hendry Cejudo’s retirement rumors have started to spread like wildfire. ‘Triple C’ finally chose to shed light on all the queries regarding his retirement. The 36-year-old mixed martial artist decided to come out of retirement on May 6. Many thought that Cejudo would get his hands on the Bantamweight title and mount a storybook comeback. But the result went the other way.
For the past three years, Henry Cejudo didn’t step foot in the Octagon, and it was a retest of his abilities at UFC 288. However, Aljamain Sterling was declared the winner by a split decision. During the post-fight interview, talking about his loss, Cejudo suggested that his future in the Octagon isn’t set in stone.
It was a split decision win for Sterling, which evidently disheartened Cejudo. Talking to Joe Rogan, the former double champ said, “I just don’t know where to take it from here Joe, I’m a little confused right now. Whether I continue. It’s like Ricky Bobby, if I’m not first, I’m last. If I can’t beat Alja, my biggest goal was to go up to 245 pounds. If I can’t get the victory over him then I just know where that puts me.”
Cejudo, prior to the UFC 288 bout, said, “I have ‘Aljo,’ O’Malley, and then I’m going after Volkanovski — and I want him in Australia. I want him in his own backyard.” At the UFC 288 media day, UFC president Dana White tried to persuade Cejudo not to call it a career, claiming that he has only tried three times to prevent a fighter’s retirement, including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier; the third fighter is Henry Cejudo.
However, Cejudo might have put all the retirement rumors to the dust, given he called out Merab Dvalishivli and demanded to fight him at UFC 292.
Henry Cejudo calls out Merab Dvalishivli
Henry Cejudo, who nearly reclaimed the crown after three years on the couch, wants to jump right back into the thick of things by taking on No. 1-ranked bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili at the UFC 292 pay-per-view (PPV) in Boston.
He broke his silence on his MMA future as he called out Aljamain Sterling’s teammate. Cejudo tweeted, “This sh**is far from over! @danawhite I want @MerabDvalishvil head on a plate! #ufcboston.”
As soon as Dvalishvli learned about the call-out, “The Machine” responded, “Let’s go!” I will take another of @funkmasterMMA‘s leftovers… for now!” As Merab has refused to face teammate Sterling, the promotion can keep the 135-pound assembly line rolling by pairing him with Cejudo.
“The Machine” is on a nine-fight winning streak that includes legends and former champions such as Jose Aldo and Petr Yan. Grappling was crucial to the 32-year-old fighter’s winning run. Merab has been avoiding the championship fight for a long time because his teammate-friend holds the bantamweight throne. It would be intriguing to see when Merab will be able to fight for the championship in the near future.
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Ritvik Malhotra
(1085 Articles Published)