“Narcissism to the highest extent,” Merab Dvalishvili head coach on Henry Cejudo drama firing of coach Eric Albarracin

Ray Longo had earnestly hoped footage of Henry Cejudo parting ways with coach was a staged skit.

“Narcissism to the highest extent,” Merab Dvalishvili head coach on Henry Cejudo drama firing of coach Eric Albarracin

Ray Longo weighs in on Henry Cejudo's mock firing fiasco before UFC 298 (Source: Instagram; @henry_cejudo)

Ray Longo is reserving any verdict on bantamweight Henry Cejudo parting ways with longtime coach Eric Albarracin. It doesn’t mean he has to like it though. Ahead of UFC 298, the former champ parted ways with his coach on UFC’s “Countdown” preview show. The incident, ahead of his fight with Merab Dvalishvili, had garnered much traction among MMA enthusiasts. Concurrently, Dvalishvili made a jested move on the coach soon after the controversial firing on camera.

‘Triple C’ later revealed he and his coach had fooled the MMA community with the infamous UFC Countdown firing. But before news of the prank broke, the opposition’s head coach had stuff to voice about it. This week, Longo appeared on the ‘Anik & Florian Podcast‘ Ep#466 where he deliberated on the transpired scene.

I’m hoping it was staged when he got rid of 'Captain America'...It had to be staged, because if not that’s a piece of sh*t scumbag move. I’d never even look at the guy again. I mean, you can get rid of the guy, but to do it on camera? This is what we’ve come to where everything has to be TikTok’d and all this, it’s all bulls*t...Hopefully, it’s bulls**t...I think it’s narcissism to the highest extent.
Ray Longo via Anik and Florian

Why did he fire his trainer right before UFC 298? That remained to be answered. Keen-eyed fan fights are already aware that featherweight champ, Alexander Volkanovski had slammed down this practice of making ‘content’ out of firing his coach as a ‘sh*t’ move. Cejudo, along with Merab Dvalishvili fights on the main card of UFC 298, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Which consequently the Aussie fighter headlines.

Later, even Matt Brown joined in; followed by Dvalishvili’s head coach. Longo believes that one can’t make content out of an associate/coach who has been with Cejudo since he won the wrestling gold at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. Accordingly, Ray Longo labels it a narcissistic reproach to keep all eyes on him.

Ray Longo says Merab Dvalishvili has Aljamain Sterling’s blessing to go for the belt

Henry Cejudo is just hours away from returning to the Octagon at UFC 298 against Merab Dvalishvili at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Away from the bend of his return, Cejudo looks to rebound from his UFC 288 title loss to then-champion, Aljamain Sterling. In the lead-up though, the wrestler and his coach Eric Albarracin thought it apt to pull off a prank on the MMA community.

Coach Ray Longo, cornering Merab Dvalishvili’s camp critiqued this to the highest extent, calling it narcissistic. In hindsight, an apt move on Cejudo’s part, given he feels he is at the rear cusp of his career run. He even doubled down on hints of retirement, speaking at UFC 298’s Fight Week pre-fight press conference.

Ray Longo says Merab Dvalishvili has the go-ahead for the 135lbs title gold
Ray Longo says Merab Dvalishvili has the go-ahead for the 135lbs title gold (Source: Twitter/UFC.go.com)

In the same segment, Longo also spoke on Sterling and Dvalishvili’s friendship. Promotional taskmaster and top honcho, Dana White had sniped at the pair of bantamweight on avoiding facing each other. Check what Longo had to nudge:

With Sterling debuting as a 145lber soon at UFC 300, his sparring partner, Dvalishvili, has the go-ahead. The latter had refrained from the title contention scene, in case Aljamain Sterling chose to opt for a rematch after UFC 292.

However, Longo now says that UFC is making it up to be more convoluted than it has to be. With Sterling out of the title picture, ‘The Machine’ has the playing field. Sooner or later he would be gunning for the well-deserved top spot. A sentiment even Henry Cejudo would aspire for.

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