SUMMARY
- Henry Cejudo faced Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298.
- The 37-year-old teased his retirement before his fight but was denied a speech.
Henry Cejudo is one of the most decorated athletes in the game. An Olympic gold medalist and a UFC double championship earned him the title of triple C. He held titles in both the bantamweight and flyweight divisions and was one of the most dominant UFC fighters both on feet and on the ground. Cejudo won the flyweight title against one of the greats Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227 via decision.
This fight was also awarded the fight of the night. He later went on to win his second title against Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 via TKO becoming the fourth simultaneous two-divisional champion. Cejudo announced his retirement after defending his title against former champion Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 via TKO.
Thank you for the awesome experiences uncle @danawhite I will forever be grateful. Thank you for taking a chance on the sport that people thought would never make it. To all my coaches and fans it been a wonderful ride. Triple C is out 🎤 #retiredontop pic.twitter.com/ZoHa3asoDU
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) May 25, 2020
After leaving his UFC gloves in the Octagon as is a known ritual for the Fighters, the announcement was met with some skepticism. Various UFC commentators and fighters stated their opinion that Cejudo was using the announcement as a contract negotiation ploy. This didn’t go well for the former double champion whose name was removed from their rankings, based on his retirement announcement.
Henry made a return to the promotion after three years, facing former champion Aljamain Sterling for the title at UFC 288 and losing via split decision. He then went on to face no. 2 ranked bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298, losing via unanimous decision and being dominated throughout the fight. The 37-year-old was teasing retirement even before the bout but wasn’t given the mic or opportunity.
Dana White has no time for Henry Cejudo’s second retirement speech
The UFC president Dana White was asked his opinion on the subject and whether it was his call to avoid another retirement speech from the former champion. White didn’t hold back in bashing the former champion and calling him out on his previous retirement act for supposed pay negotiation leverage.
“Henry Cejudo already retired. He did the whole drop the gloves thing. Tonight was Merab’s night.”
Dana White explains why Cejudo didn’t get the microphone in the cage after hinting at retirement in the lead-up to #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/TCzZ6DKVVV
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) February 18, 2024
Dana stated, “Henry Cejudo already retired. He did the whole drop the gloves thing. Tonight was Merab’s night.”. The UFC president believed that it wasn’t suited for Cejudo to give another speech, also indicating today the troubled relations he had with the boss mostly over getting higher pay. Henry although a decorated athlete, couldn’t draw in the PPV numbers which the promotion felt lacking.
Henry Cejudo exits the octagon at #UFC298 with his gloves taken off: Is this the end for Triple C? pic.twitter.com/uSv2WfsjoM
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 18, 2024
Cejudo was seen walking out of the octagon with his gloves removed which was a tease to his retirement after UFC 298 bout. White also praised Merab and thought it was his moment based on the performance he put up and didn’t want to give the spotlight to the former champion for the second time.
