Henry Cejudo returned to the cage with a win on Tuesday in Kazakhstan as he took part in a low-key grappling show.
Legendary two-weight UFC champion Cejudo faced former ONE Championship flyweight king Kairat Akhmetov in a one-round exhibition which he won by decision. ‘Triple C’ is an Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler, and got the chance to show that off in a pure grappling contest with no strikes.
After the fight, he was bizarrely handed one of his old UFC title belts, which he brandished briefly during a post-fight interview. He then gifted the prize to the son of Alash Pride FC’s president who had invited him to the show.
- Who is Henry Cejudo? ‘Triple-C’ was an Olympic gold medalist and UFC double-champ
Henry Cejudo defeats Kairat Akhmetov in return to the cage
After suffering a bizarre and controversial defeat to Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Seattle, Henry Cejudo returned to the cage without much American fanfare on Tuesday. Crowds flocked to him in Kazakhstan during a lengthy visit, which was capped off with a grappling exhibition.
Wearing wrestling shoes and leaning heavily on his history in the sport, Cejudo clearly dominated position but wasn’t able to submit Akhmetov. The Kazakh star walked second, despite being a much less accomplished athlete, and was greeted with huge support by a packed house.
Cejudo won the exchange, and proceeded to pose for photos with various dignitaries in the cage for what seemed like an age. He also wore his old UFC title belt over his shoulder, which he later gifted to the son of Alash Pride FC president Alimzhan Bektaev.
Cejudo claimed that the belt was the one he received for defeating TJ Dillashaw and saving the UFC flyweight division back in January of 2019. Speaking after the bout, he said: “I want to thank Kairat for giving me the opportunity in Alash.
“Alash is the only place where you can get a UFC champion and a ONE FC champion to compete. I’m very grateful to that and I want to give a big thanks to Kairat, I’ve been a big fan of his for a minute and I know he was supposed to fight Demetrious Johnson. It’s an honor to compete with him.”
Henry Cejudo is plotting one final UFC fight before retirement
Cejudo suffered a brutal eye injury in his fight with Song, and has since been contemplating his career. He retired on top in 2020 as a two-weight champion, but since coming back in 2023 has lost all three of his octagon outings.
He was first defeated by Aljamain Sterling in an immediate title fight, before Merab Dvalishvili handed him a second loss. The Song result was his most controversial, and he later told President Donald Trump that he expects to fight just once more.
Trump asked about how he was doing after his gruesome and controversial injury scare against Song Yadong in Seattle, to which he replied: “I’m doing good Mr President.” When he was asked about future fights, he told the President: “I’ve got one more and I’m calling it.”