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This weekend saw Henry Cejudo fail in his quest to regain the UFC bantamweight title. He fell to current champion Aljamain Sterling via split decision.
Cejudo was not clear on his future after the fight, and seemed to be considering hanging his gloves up for the second time. Since then, he has suggested otherwise on his Twitter account.
So should ‘Triple C’ really walk away from the UFC again, or should he continue to fight? It’s a fair debate worth looking at.
With that in mind, here are three reasons why Henry Cejudo should retire again – and two reasons why he should continue to fight.
#3. Henry Cejudo is unlikely to win another UFC title
For an athlete like Henry Cejudo, winning titles clearly means everything. He’s been to the top of the mountain in both the world of amateur wrestling and MMA, and is widely recognised as one of the most decorated combat athletes of all time.
However, the truth is that UFC 288 may well have been Cejudo’s final chance to claim gold, particularly inside the octagon.
The fact that the UFC allowed him to return from three years away directly into a title bout rather than making him fight another contender first was a show of their respect for him.
After his loss to Aljamain Sterling, if he wants another title shot it’s likely he’ll need to win a series of fights. If he were to move to 145lbs, as he’s suggested, that quest would only become more difficult.
Essentially, it’s hard to imagine ‘Triple C’ being able to win another UFC title, and if he can’t do that, then it’s unlikely that he’ll want to stick around at all.
#2. Henry Cejudo may be past his prime at the age of 36
One point that largely went unnoticed when Henry Cejudo decided to return from retirement to fight Aljamain Sterling was his age.
‘Triple C’ seemed to have retired at the peak of his prowess in 2020 after defeating Dominick Cruz to defend his bantamweight title. However, he actually wasn’t a young fighter per say, as his bout with Cruz came when he was 33 years old.
The three years that Cejudo spent on the shelf seemed to fly by, but in the world of MMA, time waits for no man. ‘Triple C’ is now 36.
Sure, he didn’t look like an old man at all when he fought Sterling this weekend. It’s arguable that he’s approaching the end of his prime years if he hasn’t reached the end already.
Therefore, if he continues to fight, ‘Triple C’ probably risks ending his career on a sour note.
It’s a well-known phenomenon that fighters in the smaller weight classes don’t age as well as those in the heavier classes. For as good as Cejudo is, he could find himself in trouble against younger, more dynamic foes in the future.
With that considered, it might be a better idea for him to walk away now while his legacy is still intact.
#1. Henry Cejudo has nothing left to prove in the UFC
As one of only four fighters to hold two UFC titles simultaneously in two different weight classes, Henry Cejudo’s legacy in MMA is already set.
When you add in that he’s the only man to ever beat Demetrious Johnson in the octagon at 125lbs, was the first man to ever knock out Dominick Cruz, and basically saved the flyweight division single-handed, it’s fair to label ‘Triple C’ a legend.
We’ve seen on multiple occasions, though, that legends who stick around a little too long lose a lot of their lustre.
Anderson Silva, for instance, was considered as one of the greatest – if not the greatest UFC fighter of all time at one point. When he ended his octagon career with a run of seven losses in nine fights though, he definitely harmed his legacy.
Nobody is suggesting that Cejudo might go on a similar losing streak, but if he sticks around past his prime, he certainly risks it.
At the end of the day, what does ‘Triple C’ really have left to prove? The correct answer is nothing. Therefore, he’d be better to walk away now – as other legends like Frank Shamrock and Georges St-Pierre did – than stick around.
While these are valid reasons for Henry Cejudo to head back into retirement, there are genuine reasons for him to stick around, too.
#2. There are still plenty of great fights left for Henry Cejudo at 135lbs and beyond
If his fight with Aljamain Sterling had come after a run that’d seen him face most of the world’s top fighters, then it’d be more understandable for Henry Cejudo to return to retirement.
However, ‘Triple C’ was returning from three years on the shelf for the bout, and before it, he hadn’t exactly fought a murderer’s row at 135lbs anyway. This means that there are still a huge number of great fights left for the Olympic gold medallist at 135lbs.
Cejudo has already spoken about a clash with Merab Dvalishvili on his Instagram. He’s also never faced Petr Yan, Sean O’Malley, Marlon Vera, Cory Sandhagen or Song Yadong. Any of those fighters would make a great opponent for ‘Triple C’.
More to the point, Cejudo could also choose to switch weight class, whether that would see him go back to 125lbs, or up to 145lbs.
If he were to do the former, then he could probably get an instant shot at the winner of the upcoming flyweight title bout between Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja.
If he took the latter path, he probably wouldn’t get an instant shot at Alexander Volkanovski now. However, fights with Max Holloway, Arnold Allen or Yair Rodriguez would all be fantastic.
Basically, there’s simply too many great opponents left for Cejudo to face for him to want to walk away now.
#1. Henry Cejudo might not be that far away from another bantamweight title shot
Henry Cejudo might’ve lost his recent bantamweight title bout with Aljamain Sterling via split decision, but with Sean O’Malley now positioned as the #1 contender, an instant rematch seems very unlikely.
On the face of it then, Cejudo seems to be miles away from another shot at the crown that he voluntarily gave up back in 2020. However, if things go a certain way, that might not actually be the case.
‘Triple C’ recently took to Instagram to demand a shot at Merab Dvalishvili, who is currently ranked at No.1 in the bantamweight division.
More to the point, not only is ‘The Machine’ ranked highly, but he’s also widely known for being Sterling’s training partner and good friend.
If Cejudo were able to secure this fight, and if he were able to win, then it would be hard to deny him another shot at ‘The Funk Master’. Even if the UFC were not keen on it, it’s likely that Sterling would want to avenge his training partner’s loss, and that could push the title fight through.
With this in mind, then, ‘Triple C’ might be just one fight away from another title shot – making it well worth his while to stick around.
