Henry Cejudo congratulates Aljamain Sterling and opens up on UFC future in emotional statement following recent loss

Henry Cejudo has congratulated Aljamain Sterling after their grueling five-round showdown that transpired at UFC 288 on May 6, 2023. Additionally, 'Triple C' also shed light on his UFC future.

Cejudo, a former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion, retired from MMA in May 2020. He returned to the octagon at UFC 288 to challenge Sterling for the latter's UFC bantamweight title. Cejudo lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision and hinted at retirement during his post-fight octagon interview.

That said, 'Triple C' has now put forth a tweet via his Twitter handle, with a video attached to the said tweet. The tweet comprised a written statement where he congratulated Aljamain Sterling on his victory:

"Congrats to @funkmasterMMA on a competitive fight. My goal was to finish Aljo, and I fell short. What's next? If I can't make history, then I'm not doing this sh*t. I’m addicted to gold and climbing mountains."

Henry Cejudo seemingly suggested that he probably won't continue his MMA career if he isn't going to compete in high-profile title matchups.

In the video attached to the tweet, he lightheartedly asked his manager Ali Abdelaziz to get him another UFC title fight. In an emotional statement, Cejudo said:

"Hey, team, guys, I appreciate it. You guys did your job, dude. I just; I had to make adjustments in there. It had been a minute. It had been a while. I could have managed distance a little bit more. I could have kicked a little bit more. Getting taken down, defending them too; I mean it was, it was a f****** fight. It was a fight."

Watch Cejudo address the topic in the video attached to the tweet below:

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Sean O'Malley believes home crowd swayed outcome of Henry Cejudo vs Aljamain Sterling

The Henry Cejudo vs Aljamain Sterling matchup headlined UFC 288 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Sterling trains at the Serra Longo Fight Team based in the New York tri-state area. 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley has opined that Sterling being the hometown fighter resulted in him being favored by the crowd and the judges.

It's believed that Sean O'Malley will face Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title, potentially in August.

During the UFC 288 post-fight press conference, O'Malley alluded to the same. Moreover, he indicated that Henry Cejudo should've been awarded the decision victory and the title at UFC 288. 'Sugar' said:

“I thought Henry was up three [to] one going into the fifth [round]. I was honestly pretty surprised that Aljo won. I thought Henry did what he needed to do. We’re in New York. We’re in New Jersey, I mean… I thought he [Cejudo] won."

Watch O'Malley's assessment below: