Tag: Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo: Bo Nickal needs to hold his horses, ‘maybe 10 fights away from possibly becoming UFC champion’

Henry Cejudo doesn’t think Bo Nickal is quite ready for the top after UFC 300.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] doesn’t think [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] is quite ready for the top after UFC 300.

Nickal (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) remained unbeaten when he submitted Cody Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) in Round 2 of Saturday’s main card opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Nickal gave himself two thumbs down for his performance, but Cejudo still sees championship potential in the standout wrestler – just not right now.

“Don’t put that pressure on you, if you’re disappointed in your performance, because quite honestly, I do believe you could be a future champ at 185 pounds – but you are not ready for the top 10,” Cejudo said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “If they put you up against big bodies like Marvin Vettori, who have good jiu-jitsu, big dudes and could also wrestle – even a guy like Paulo ‘Borrachinha’ (Costa) … I mean, he’s not quite ready for that top 10.

“I think at 185 pounds, he needs to go three rounds. He needs to understand that threshold because still him winning and beating these guys super early, if you want to be champion, how is it going to feel when you actually go five rounds against guys like Sean Strickland, Paulo ‘Borrachinha,’ Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier? That weight class is absolutely stacked. I think he needs to hold his horses. I think he’s still maybe 10 fights away from possibly becoming UFC champion.”

Nickal called out Anthony Hernandez, who’s on a five-fight winning streak and ranked No. 12 in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. He is scheduled to face Roman Dolidze at UFC 302 on June 1.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Henry Cejudo: Jon Jones should get ‘two-faced c*nt’ sample collector for defamation of character

Henry Cejudo supports Jon Jones against the allegations of threats made to drug test sample collectors.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] fully supports UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] against recent allegations from drug test sample collectors.

During a recent Drug Free Sport International (DFSI) sample collection at his home, Jones allegedly threatened the lives of the workers and took one of their phones, who then went to the police. The Albuquerque (N.M.) Police Department (APD) created an incident report and issued Jones a summons for assault and interference with communications.

Jones admitted he was upset, but denied the allegations. The champ shared footage from a surveillance camera that shows him high-fiving and quickly embracing the workers as they were leaving his property.

Cejudo has spent time with Jones in the training room and has built a relationship. The former two-division UFC champ watched the video and believes Jones. He also understands the frustration that comes with random drug testing.

“Is Jon Jones innocent? One hundred percent,” Cejudo said in a video posted to his YouTube channel. “… It’s almost like these people want to somewhat create a story because they want to portray, keep going with the storyline that Jon Jones is ‘the monster.’

“From what I saw in the video, and getting a chance to know Jon, I could get frustrating at times. Trust me by that, I’ve gotten into it with guys from USADA. People who I’ve known for years, people who have tested me for years. They catch you at a party, they catch you at early in the morning. I mean, it’s normal for you to kind of get frustrated like, ‘Hey man, what’s going on here?'”

Jones admitted to using foul language during testing, but contrary to the workers’ story, says he never made any threats. For that, Cejudo thinks Jones should respond with legal action.

“If I’m you Jon Jones, you know what I would do? I would get her for defamation of character,” Cejudo said. “I would get her for being a two-faced c*nt, and trying to come at you for something that you really didn’t do.

“… I think if anything Jon, you should probably start fighting this and go against them. Make them think twice before they start bringing your name up. Make them think twice before they’re going to make up a story about you, you know, threatening to kill somebody or whatnot.”

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Video: Khabib Nurmagomedov is against Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway. Does he have a point?

Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t thrilled with the ramifications of Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway at UFC 300. Fair or foul?

One of the most anticipated fights on the UFC 300 lineup is the BMF title fight between [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] and [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]. However, not everyone is excited about it.

Count UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] among those who are not fans of this matchup.

“All respect for Max Holloway, but I don’t know, and I don’t understand why UFC make this fight,” Nurmagomedov told MMA Junkie recently.

Nurmagomedov would rather see Holloway face featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and Gaethje matchup against Islam Makhachev in the coming months. According to “The Eagle,” this matchup could prevent two of the best title matchups from coming together in the featherweight and lightweight divisions.

Is Khabib right, or are his comments out of bounds? Our “Spinning Back Clique” of Farah Hannoun, Simon Samano and Brian “Goze” Garcia answered that with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below on YouTube.

 

Henry Cejudo: Brandon Moreno struggles to make flyweight, should fight me at bantamweight

Henry Cejudo doesn’t see why Brandon Moreno shouldn’t fight him at bantamweight.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] doesn’t see why [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] shouldn’t fight him at bantamweight.

Moreno (21-8-2 MMA, 9-5-2 UFC) called out Cejudo for a bantamweight bout last May, and Cejudo is willing to fight him at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas – also known as “Noche UFC.”

Moreno is coming off a split decision loss to Brandon Royval in the UFC Fight Night 237 main event Saturday at Mexico City Arena. Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) says he’s merely responding to Moreno’s prior callout.

“This was Brandon’s idea – I’m just accepting his challenge,” Cejudo told MMA Junkie in an interview to promote his new “Pound for Pound” podcast with Kamaru Usman. “Once I lost to Aljamain Sterling, he says, ‘Henry, don’t retire yet. F the belts, F everything, this isn’t about that, let’s me and you fight.’ And after this fight, just like, ‘All right man.’ I was contemplating retirement, but I just couldn’t – once I watched the fight, I knew the errors, I knew everything pretty much that happened, you know?”

In a recent interview with The Schmo, Cejudo’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, suggested there’s reluctance to make Cejudo vs. Moreno because the UFC thinks “The Assassin Baby” is too small. Cejudo dismissed that notion.

“That’s the stupidest sh*t ever,” Cejudo said. “I know Brandon. The dude struggles to make 125 pounds. He’s too f*cking big. It’s time for him to move up. I’m short. It sucks to make 125 pounds. This is the same reason why I went up (to bantamweight). I think he’ll become more successful, and I personally think he’ll feel better.”

Cejudo contemplated retirement after getting outlasted by Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298, but quickly changed his tune.

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Henry Cejudo: Pull Max Holloway from UFC 300 bout vs. Justin Gaethje to fight Ilia Topuria in Spain

Henry Cejudo thinks the better play would be to have Max Holloway fight for the 145-pound title in Spain rather than face Justin Gaethje.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] has a vision for [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]’s first title defense, and it requires shaking up the UFC 300 lineup.

The UFC’s new featherweight champion has quickly become a star, and has called for several fights outside his division. Cejudo, a former two-division UFC champ, knows a thing or two about chasing big fights in different divisions, but thinks Topuria isn’t quite ready to do that just yet.

“For Ilia Topuria, there’s too many guys at featherweight for him,” Cejudo told MMA Junkie. “It’s almost like he kind of skipped the line to the belt by just fighting Josh Emmett. No pushback on Josh Emmett, but he’s lost to a lot of people.”

Topuria’s win over Emmett was his sixth victory in the UFC, which followed a stoppage over Bryce Mitchell. He went on to claim the division’s title by knocking off the long-reigning Alexander Volkanovski by second-round knockout at UFC 298.

During his in-cage, post-fight interview, Topuria called out Conor McGregor for a fight in Spain. Cejudo likes the location, but has a different opponent in mind, which would require eliminating the BMF title fight at UFC 300.

“I think they should probably get Max Holloway out of the fight with Justin Gaethje, and give him that fight in Spain,” Cejudo said. “If you fight a guy like Justin Gaethje, Justin Gaethje’s a guy that will hurt you, and you will not be the same. He’s done it to Tony Ferguson. He’s done it to a lot of people. It’s lights out when you fight a guy like Justin Gaethje, and I think sometimes you got to save these dudes from themselves.”

Holloway, a former titleholder at 145 pounds, is currently on a two-fight winning streak in the division. The Hawaiian picked up back-to-back wins over top contenders Arnold Allen and Chan Sung Jung. Before a third loss to Volkanovski, Holloway defeated another pair of contenders in Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez.

Topuria winning the title was a boost for Holloway’s hopes at another title shot. In addition, a fresh matchup for the title would involve a ton of star power for the promotion’s potential card to take place in Spain.

While Holloway could return to featherweight after his matchup against Gaethje at 155 pounds, Cejudo believes the damage risk is too great, and would prefer to see Holloway go straight into a fight with Topuria.

“If I’m in that position, if I’m Dana White, if I’m the UFC, it’s like hey, go through Max Holloway. Go through Movsar (Evloev). I think he defends it a couple more times – you know, he’s going to have his hands full if he does decide to go up. But the celebrity status that these guys bring now, it’s just different.”

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Henry Cejudo eyes potential matchups against Sean O’Malley, Brandon Moreno

Since deciding against retirement, Henry Cejudo is looking at matchups against opponents who have also held UFC gold.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] isn’t retiring, which means he will be looking for an opponent soon.

The former two-division UFC champion has an elbow injury concern stemming from his last outing against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 that he wants to clear up, but when it comes time to make the walk to the octagon again, “Triple C” knows who he wants to stand across.

“There’s still that (Sean) O’Malley fight,” Cejudo said in a video on his YouTube channel. “I still don’t think O’Malley’s going to get past ‘Chito.’ We could potentially headline something like that in Phoenix.”

O’Malley is set to defend his bantamweight title against Marlon Vera in the main event of UFC 299 at Kaseya Center in Miami. However, Cejudo believes O’Malley will lose his title that evening, making an easier path for a potential fresh matchup in the division.

There’s another fighter who has held UFC gold on Cejudo’s mind, one he shares history with as a former teammate.

“There’s that fight with Brandon Moreno,” Cejudo said. “There’s that bad blood that, you know, former training partners that were somewhat best friends leading up to the breakup, to having a good, nice little Mexican showdown for all you fans.”

Cejudo has called for a fight against Moreno in the past after going their separate ways. It’s unclear if he would be willing to drop down to flyweight again to meet “The Assassin Baby” for the grudge match, as his last bout at 125 pounds was a successful title defense against T.J. Dillashaw in 2019.

Before his recent unanimous decision loss to Dvalishvili, the 37-year-old Cejudo said he would retire if he didn’t win. However, he has since changed that stance and has decided to continue fighting.

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Former UFC champ Henry Cejudo changes mind on retirement: ‘I just cannot go out like this’

Henry Cejudo said he would walk away from the sport if he lost at UFC 298, but has decided to continue fighting.

Former two-division UFC champion [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] said he would walk away from MMA if he lost his last fight, but isn’t sticking to those words.

In the lead up to his UFC 298 bout against Merab Dvalishvili, Cejudo said in multiple interviews that he believed it would be time to hang up the gloves if he couldn’t get his hand raised. Cejudo ended up losing a unanimous decision to Dvalishvili, but after reassessing his career in the days that followed, he isn’t quite ready to call it a career.

After all, Cejudo has been here before. He retired inside the octagon after defeating Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in 2020, but decided to return to action last year.

“If I could change everything, I probably would never come back, but now that I’m back, I got to sh*t where I sleep,” Cejudo said in a video on his YouTube channel. “For that reason, I cannot go out like that. So I’m here today ladies and gentlemen, taking my word back as a man, confronting you guys, you the people, you my fans, you my family, you my friends, you the haters, that I just cannot go out like this. Guys, to say the least, it is far from over with the ‘Triple C.'”

Cejudo’s result at UFC 298 marked two consecutive losses, as he lost to Dvalishvili’s teammate and former champion Aljamain Sterling in his return fight at UFC 288 in May. It’s the second time in his career that Cejudo has dropped two in a row, but what followed after the first instance, set off an incredible winning streak.

“Saturday night, was it all or nothing for me? Yeah, and I meant it – or did I really?” Cejudo said. “Have I truly been a hypocrite to myself? The last time I lost two times in a row, I lost to Demetrious Johnson and I lost to Joseph Benavidez. I went down and I created one of the biggest rampages in UFC history. Avenging my loss to Demetrious Johnson, beating T.J. Dillashaw on EPO. Taking out No. 1 contender Marlon Moraes and knocking the brakes, knocking the teeth out of Dominick Cruz.

“… What I’ve accomplished in combat sports has truly been second to none. You guys may not like me. You may not like the schtick, you may not like the persona, but one thing you will say is Henry Cejudo has done sh*t unachievable and has lived maybe about three lifetimes in his actual life.”

Cejudo expressed frustration with being able to train properly for the fight against Dvalishvili, but did not want it to seem like he was taking away from his opponent’s performance. He’s also concerned that his left forearm may be broken. During the fight, it became severely swollen and there are still issues today.

“Triple C” will be keeping an eye on the division and other potential options outside of bantamweight, but his primary goal at the moment is to return to the win column in his next outing.

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Dana White: ‘Henry Cejudo already retired’ once, so no Joe Rogan interview after UFC 298 loss

Dana White didn’t see a reason for Henry Cejudo to get the mic after UFC 298.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] didn’t see a reason for [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] to get the mic after UFC 298.

Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) removed his gloves after losing a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili Saturday at Honda Center – which he said he would do if he lost. However, Cejudo never got to address his fighting future in the immediate aftermath because he wasn’t given a post-fight in-cage interview.

White had no intention of giving Cejudo the mic if he lost. He was critical of Cejudo retiring in May 2020, and didn’t want to see him steal Dvalishvili’s (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) shine.

“Henry Cejudo already retired, OK? He did the whole drop the gloves thing,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC 298. “Tonight was Merab’s night.

“Merab went in there, fought the No. 3 guy in the world, former world champion, and easily won the fight. Tonight was Merab’s night. If he wants to retire again, he can do that here (at the press conference) or somewhere else. You don’t give the mic to Cejudo tonight.”

White thinks the long layoff hurt Cejudo. When Cejudo retired in May 2020, he was on a six-fight winning streak – including title wins over Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw, and Dominick Cruz.

But since coming out of retirement this past May, Cejudo has dropped back-to-back fights to Aljamain Sterling and Dvalishvili.

“In my opinion, you can’t take three years off in combat sports,” White said. “It’s never done well for anybody, and Cejudo looked great in the first round. I thought he started to gas out in the second round. Merab just got stronger as the fight went on.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

UFC 298 medical suspensions: Henry Cejudo among 9 fighters suspended 180 days

Nine UFC 298 competitors are out a potential 180 days due to injuries sustained in their fights Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.

Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view event in Anaheim, Calif. was not a good night to be a limb.

UFC 298 took place at Anaheim, Calif. and featured 12 bouts and 24 fighters. Nine of those fighters were handed six-month suspensions as a result of injuries sustained in their bouts. Eight of those potential injuries were deemed possible fractures.

Monday, California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster, who oversaw the event, provided MMA Junkie with a full list of medical suspensions.

Scroll below to see how much time UFC 298 competitors will have to take off as a result of their bouts Saturday. It’s important to note fighters may return before the conclusion of their suspensions if they are cleared by a physician (unless denoted “no exception” or “mandatory”).

Sean O’Malley on Merab Dvalishvili’s win over Henry Cejudo: ‘Decent little fight from a couple little dudes’

Sean O’Malley accurately predicted Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo.

[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] accurately predicted [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag].

Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) overwhelmed former dual-champion Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) to win a unanimous decision on Saturday’s UFC 298 main card at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Bantamweight champion O’Malley picked Dvalishvili to win, and thought he put on a solid performance.

“It’s interesting watching fights live compared to on the TV,” O’Malley told ESPN on the UFC 298 post-fight show. “I’d like to watch it back on the TV to really give a full input. It was decent. I heard rumors that Henry had some injuries going into the fight. He looked a little winded, but Merab looked good. Decent little fight from a couple little dudes.”

O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) makes his first title defense in a rematch against Marlon Vera in the UFC 299 headliner March 9 at Kaseya Center in Miami. UFC CEO Dana White declared Dvalishvili the No. 1 contender to challenge for the title, but O’Malley is currently focused on his fight.

“Three weeks, UFC 299, everything’s going so good,” O’Malley said. “I’ve got to get through ‘Chito’ before I can start saying I might fight him, I might fight this guy.”

O’Malley will look to avenge the lone loss of his career which came to Vera in August 2020. He hopes to mirror Israel Adesanya’s revenge knockout against Alex Pereira at UFC 287, which also took place in Miami.

“I’m pretty sure Israel Adesanya knocked out Alex Pereira in the rematch, am I right?” O’Malley said. “Interesting.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.