In MMA, knowing when to walk away is one of the toughest decisions a fighter can make. Most stick around too long, racking up losses that tarnish their legacy. Only a select few—Khabib Nurmagomedov, Georges St-Pierre, and Henry Cejudo—have managed to retire at the top of their game. But while Khabib and GSP stayed retired, Cejudo had a change of heart.
After stepping away in 2020 as a reigning two-division champ, Cejudo realized he called it quits too soon. His return in 2023 didn’t go as planned, and now after a loss to Song Yadong, UFC veterans Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen are calling him out on taking years of his own prime by not fighting.
On their podcast, ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ Cormier asked Sonnen if he also felt that Cejudo stepping away from the sport was one of the “worst decisions ever made”.
Sonnen responded in affirmative and broke down why Triple C’s decision to hang up his gloves temporarily only harmed him in the long run.
“Yes, it was one of the most surprising things. Let’s go back to 246, Henry was fighting for the championship that he brought against Dominick Cruz.”, he said.
He further explained the nitty-gritty of how that could have given him a huge payday and added, “It activated a participation clause within his contract. It only activates if you’re defending a championship. That was a beautiful payday probably somewhere in the neighborhood of about $2.8 million. “
Disappointed, Sonnen then asserted that Cejudo would never be in that position again. Even if he got near a title shot, Sonnen doesn’t believe he will ever be defending UFC gold again.
Cormier also believes that Cejudo stepping away during the pandemic made the choice even worse.
He pointed out that while most sports shut down, the UFC kept going, making it the only major show in town. This meant more eyeballs than ever on fights, and fighters who stuck around had a golden opportunity to become massive stars.
He used Khamzat Chimaev as an example—a fighter who exploded onto the scene during this time, benefiting from the UFC’s consistency when everything else was on hold.
For Cormier, Cejudo walking away at that moment was outrageous. “That was the best time to be fighting,” he said, emphasizing that staying active during that period could have elevated Cejudo’s star power even further.
Instead, Cejudo sat on the sidelines, only to return three years later, realizing he may have made a mistake. Unfortunately, since deciding to come back, Cejudo has lost three on the trot with the most recent loss being against Song Yadong this weekend.
Henry Cejudo slams his doubters after revealing extent of an eye poke
Henry Cejudo’s fight against Song Yadong at UFC Seattle ended in a way no one wanted to see. After taking an eye poke in the third round, Cejudo struggled to recover, and despite trying to push through, he ultimately told his corner, “I cannot f*cking see.” That was it—the fight was stopped, and because three full rounds had been completed, Song was declared the winner by technical decision.
Almost immediately, Cejudo faced criticism, with some claiming he used the eye poke as an excuse to stop fighting. He quickly shut that down, posting a photo of his damaged eye and listing his injuries: diplopia (double vision), soft tissue damage, and corneal abrasion. He even sarcastically added, “He wanted a way out.”
Diplopia, Soft Tissue Damage, Corneal Abrasion.
“hE wANteD a wAy OuT” #UFCSeattle pic.twitter.com/SYG48fmb3M
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 23, 2025
Referee Jason Herzog didn’t deduct a point from Song for the foul, which turned out to be a big deal—because if he had, the fight would have ended in a draw instead of a win for Song.
Cejudo skipped the post-fight press conference to get treated at a Seattle hospital, but he was already calling for a rematch. Dana White, though, wasn’t interested, bluntly saying, “I just don’t want to see it again.”
