Henry Cejudo is stepping away from amateur wrestling after a storied career that included a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Cejudo managed to accomplish all this despite skipping a collegiate career and going straight from his four high school state wrestling championships to training with USA wrestling.
FloWrestling with the tweet at the moment it happened:
More after the jump…
Luke Thomas did a great interview with Cejudo on his MMA Nation radio show where Henry talked about a possible future in MMA:
Luke: I want to talk about your 2012 initiative with Coca-Cola in just a minute, but first let’s dial back to MMA a little bit. Are you the guy who buys the pay-per-views every time they come how? How much of a fan are you? There’s no right or wrong answer, I’m just curious.
Henry: I’m the guy who’s good friends with the guy who buys the pay-per-view events. I keep up with it pretty regularly. I’m a huge fan.
Who knows? In the future, you guys may be seeing Henry Cejudo ‘The American Dream’ in the cage.
Luke: Is that right? When can we expect a potential debut of you in mixed martial arts? After the 2012 games?
Henry: After the 2012 games. Obviously I want to finish school. I’m currently or going to be a junior in college. I would definitely love to finish school. I would like to be done with it in a month and a half. That’s my ultimate goal and then start [fighting MMA].
I actually started boxing for a while. I actually won the Copper Gloves in Arizona. I started competing on boxing, so I have my hands. I’m an O.K. wrestler, so why not?
Cejudo would be a huge addition to the UFC flyweight division and his background could create immediate casual interest in the still developing weight class.