Cejudo goes all-in to earn shot at another title or bust
Henry Cejudo has gone from the King of Cringe to the Duke of Do Or Die.
Cejudo was once content to amp the awkwardness, the self-appointed highness offering pillows of vanquished opponents and bringing out Carrot Top-like props while sporting a crown and carrying a scepter.
This was Triple C, short for Triple Champion, building his image at his peak.
As uncomfortable and weird as it was, Cejudo royalty. Sure, he was part of a rare breed of UFC fighters to have won championships in two divisions. But none of the others has an Olympic gold medal.
And now Cejudo, at 37, wants to add to his unparalleled résumé by putting it all on the line in his pursuit to become a champion one more time, saying if he cannot defeat Merab Dvalishvili in a presumed No. 1 bantamweight title contender fight at UFC 298 tonight at Honda Center, he will walk away from the sport.
“It's either all or nothing. I have a lot in my life,” a down-to-earth, cringefree Cejudo told the Southern California News Group at media day Wednesday. “So just continue to keep fighting? With the family and business and real estate and YouTube content and all that other stuff? Either get it done now, become champion once again, or I don't want anything to do with it. And I'm OK with that.”
All eyes will be on this bout, the second fight on the main card, as Cejudo's career hangs in the balance.
His combat sports legacy, however, which began with him becoming the youngest American to win Olympic gold in wrestling history at the age of 21 at the 2008 Beijing Games, will remain intact.
AT A GLANCE
When: today
Where: Honda Center
How to watch: early prelims (3:30 p.m., ESPN+); prelims (5 p.m., ESPN/ ESPN+); main card (7p.m., PPV via ESPN+)
“What he has accomplished in the Octagon, everything he has achieved in the sport, that's great. That's ... everything we want, right?” said Ilia Topuria, who will challenge featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in tonight's main event. “He's become an Olympic champion. He's become a UFC champion, double champion. He did so many great, great things and he keeps fighting, so all my respect to him.”
Even though Cejudo has retired before, the mere talk of him seriously hanging it up is a first. Cejudo shocked the MMA world at UFC 249 in May 2020, the bantamweight champ punctuating his TKO victory over former titleholder Dominick Cruz by announcing his retirement in his postfight interview.
While some skeptics viewed it as a contract negotiating stunt, Cejudo stayed retired for three years. He started a family and stayed in the game coaching at Fight Ready MMA & Fitness Gym in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Not only did Cejudo become an outstanding coach — working with elite championship fighters like Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson and Weili Zhang — he fell in love with it in addition to offering online analyses.
“Actually, I probably enjoy that more than anything in reality, you know? Like even more so than fighting,” said Cejudo, who in his first post-retirement fight came up short in a disputed split decision against bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 in May.
“You know, fighting is my job and this other stuff ... I do because it's cool. It's fun to share information with people. It's fun to give different details to people that they probably didn't see or get a chance to ask.”
And then there's his family. He and his wife, Ana Karolina, welcomed a daughter into the world in November 2021. And just four months ago, their son was born.
Cejudo, a Los Angeles native, grew up in poverty. He and his six siblings were raised by his mother. His father, an alcoholic and drug addict, was often incarcerated. Cejudo lived in four states and attended 13 elementary schools.
He admits he never saw himself fighting once he became a father.
“You know, when I retired, I was like, `I'm really done. I'm done being selfish.' When you come back to the sport, you go back to being selfish,” said Cejudo (16-4), who first won UFC gold at UFC 227 on Aug. 4, 2018, at Staples Center, dethroning longtime flyweight champion Johnson and avenging a TKO loss two years earlier.
All of it is why Cejudo will be at peace if he comes up short tonight and rides off into the sunset for Arizona. And Dvalishvili (16-3) poses a serious threat.
The 33-year-old Georgian fighter, who trains in Long Island, New York, is a tenacious grappler who has won nine in a row — eight via unanimous decision. His ability to take down opponents — no 135-pounder in UFC history can top his 61 takedowns — and keep them there should be a fascinating showdown against a world-class wrestler like Cejudo.
“I see my hand being raised whether I knock him out or we go three rounds. And I gotta give that dude credit, he's good,” Cejudo said of Dvalishvili. “He's got a gas tank on him. I'm not gonna underestimate him by any means. But I also know my ability. I know that my experience and what I've done before in the past, I can take it.”
The soft-spoken Dvalishvili concedes it will take a focused effort to beat the legend. And the fact it is all on the line for Cejudo, Dvalishvili says the stakes are that much higher.
“He wants only gold and it makes him more dangerous, because either for him it's everything or nothing,” Dvalishvili said. “It's a really crazy mentality for him. And it's a big challenge for me.”
When the Honda Center lights come up after their fight to night, Cejudo will know his path.
And win or lose, he knows his legacy. Cringe or no cringe.
“I think I go down as the greatest combat athlete of all time, not one of. I think my accolades speak louder than my words,” Cejudo said.