Former two-division UFC titleholder Henry Cejudo‘s fall from grace began when he abruptly announced his retirement at UFC 249. Five years later, Cejudo’s decision to walk away at the height of his stardom is returning to the surface following a third-straight defeat at UFC Seattle.
Cejudo lost to Song Yadong by technical decision (unanimous) in the UFC Seattle main event last Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena. A back-and-forth fight was brought to an abrupt halt after an accidental eye poke led to Cejudo being unable to continue competing due to blurred vision.
It was another disappointing and frustrating setback for Cejudo, who moves to 0-3 since ending his multiple-year retirement in 2023. He returned at UFC 288 against then-champion Aljamain Sterling, losing by split decision for the bantamweight belt.
Cejudo announced his retirement following a win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. In hindsight, his decision to walk away on top and then return a few years later might be coming back to haunt him.
- READ MORE: Michael Chandler shares the biggest ‘unknown’ of upcoming Paddy Pimblett fight at UFC 314
Fans slam Henry Cejudo for ‘staining his legacy’ in retirement reversal
After Cejudo’s third-straight defeat at UFC Seattle, Cejudo’s post-fight interview at UFC 249 made the rounds online. Many fans believed his decision to retire and abruptly end his bantamweight title reign led to his ongoing losing skid.
“Cejudo has literally tarnished his reputation,” one fan wrote on X.
“Worst decision was coming back to the UFC. Stained his legacy,” another said.
“He literally could’ve had a couple more defenses and he ran away.”
“He should’ve stayed retired then.”
“Triple C is annoying should’ve stayed retired.
“Now it’s time to hang it up.”
“It’s the best for him. Maybe not for y’all but it was for him.”
“Dumb move, he thought he can retire at the top.”
“No honestly the worst move he ever made was coming back after this, he retired on top and he’s looked nothing but bad since coming back.”
“He thought he was a star who could ‘retire’ as a holdout for a check, but no one ever liked him. The UFC or its fans didn’t flinch at him leaving. All that happened was he lost the best years of his career.”
Despite Cejudo and Yadong’s post-fight pleas to book an immediate rematch, UFC CEO Dana White and the matchmakers are interested in different avenues. Yadong moved one step closer to a title shot with his victory in Seattle.
After falling to Sterling at UFC 288, Cejudo lost dominantly to current titleholder Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298. At 38 years old, Cejudo is running out of time for another potential title push before he hangs up the gloves again.
Henry Cejudo’s former rival called for him to retire after UFC Seattle
After Cejudo added to his ongoing losing skid, former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson publically called for Cejudo to walk away after UFC Seattle. He questioned Cejudo’s chances at title contention at this stage of his career, to go along with his various businesses and obligations outside of fighting.
Cejudo remains optimistic about his fighting future after UFC Seattle and wants to face another rising contender to get back in the mix at bantamweight. Cejudo’s last victory came against Cruz, and before that, he became one of the UFC’s first simultaneous two-division champs.
While Cejudo plots his next move, he’s running out of time for another potential title push. We could learn more about what Cejudo wants to do for his next fighting chapter in the coming weeks.
- READ MORE: Aljamain Sterling and Diego Lopes clash on social media about UFC 314 featherweight title fight