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Henry Cejudo took a light-hearted jibe at former opponent Dominick Cruz after surging bantamweight contender Song Yadong called out 'The Dominator' following his fight at the recently concluded UFC Vegas 50 event.
Yadong faced Marlon Moraes in the event's co-headliner, which took place at the promotion's APEX facility in Las Vegas. The Chinese fighter put the entire bantamweight division on notice with a stellar performance on the night, knocking Moraes out cold in the very first round of the fight.
Following a spectacular performance, Yadong decided to call out former champ Cruz for his next fight. During the post-fight octagon interview, he said:
"I want to fight Dominick Cruz. I want to fight with him."
Watch Song Yadong call out Dominick Cruz in the video below:
Henry Cejudo found this the perfect opportunity to throw some shade at Cruz, asking Yadong to remember to bring alcohol and cigarettes ahead of the potential clash. Cejudo was referring to his bantamweight title clash against Cruz at UFC 249 back in 2020. 'Triple C' ended up winning the fight via TKO, but Cruz was unhappy with the stoppage.
Following the fight, Cruz claimed that referee Keith Peterson was under the influence of alcohol while officiating the fight and ended it incorrectly, handing 'The Dominator' a disappointing title fight loss. At the UFC 249 post-fight show on ESPN, Cruz said:
"I wish there was a way to keep these refs a little more responsible sometimes. The guy smelled like alcohol and cigarettes, so who knows what he was doing. Definitely [he did]. I wish they drug tested them."
Incidentally, Keith Peterson also officiated the fight between Song Yadong and Marlon Moraes at UFC Vegas 50.
Henry Cejudo makes U-turn on plans of octagon return
We might never see Henry Cejudo enter the octagon again. The former two-division UFC champion recently said he was keen to step out of retirement. However, it now seems like he's given up on the idea.
Cejudo explained that his relationship with Dana White and the UFC brass may be strained beyond repair and that the promotion is unlikely to pay him enough for him to step inside the octagon again. During an interaction with MMA Junkie, he said:
"I don’t think so [on fighting again]. I think the way that things are going, I think I talked too much sh*t. I think I picked on Dana [White] a little too much. He’s just not going to pay me. I’ve accepted that. This is why I’m able to throw out the kitchen sink from now on because it’s never going to change. It’s not going to change."
Cejudo's last fight was against Cruz at UFC 249. He announced his retirement during an octagon interview following the bout.
