UFC 272’s heated headliner grudge match ended in Colby Covington outworking his former friend and training partner Jorge Masvidal. As “Gamebred” stated in his post-fight interviews, he lost because his wrestling was “flat” that night.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith believes Masvidal was “not ready” for Covington’s wrestling. But for observers like former double-champion Henry Cejudo, the UFC’s first and only “BMF” champion may be lacking in some technical aspects of the sport. And he’s willing to help out.
“What I would do with Gamebred is I would… you would want to make him more of a technical fighter. Sometimes, he gets into these flurries, he’s too smart. He’s letting people into his fight zone,” Cejudo told The Schmo.
I think I could help Jorge become a more technical fighter. He’s too smart.
I’ve always had so much love for that dude. I’m bummed out that I haven’t been able to have that relationship with him. My door will always be open for @GamebredFighter.
: https://t.co/UdDU2sflhv pic.twitter.com/V3v0ATdqyv
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) March 7, 2022
“If I was to help him out, it would be with his distance game. Keeping him at borders, never allowing anybody to get into the uppercut or hook range and things to that nature. Slipping through, going over those areas of concentration in wrestling. Different little tricks.
“Wrestling and MMA wrestling is different, and people need to realize that. There are things you can slip out of, and there are things that you really got to defend. But you cannot get into these scramble positions like he did with Colby, which eventually exhausted him.”
Cejudo says there’s a bit of a strained relationship between him and Masvidal because of a previous situation involving their managers. Nonetheless, he’s extending a helping hand.
“I think I would help out Gamebred a lot. I like Gamebred, even though we stopped talking due to our management firms with Ali and Abraham,” Cejudo sai. “I’ve always had so much love for that dude. I’m a little bummed out that I haven’t had that relationship with him ever since that crazy shit happened with him and Ali and his management.
“My door will always be open for Gamebred. If he decides to rejuvenate his career, I know that I could help him tremendously.”
Since his retirement in 2020, the 35-year-old Cejudo has taken on the coach/training partner role to some of the UFC’s elite like current flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and ex-champions Jon Jones and Zhang Weili.
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