Some fighters chase the money, some crave the competition, and others… well, they’re still figuring it out. That search for clarity, for purpose, can lead to some pretty unexpected places. For Henry Cejudo, it meant diving into the world of psychedelics
Yup, the former double champ opened up to Israel Adesanya about one particularly wild trip that helped him unlock a whole new level of self-awareness. And let’s just say, it wasn’t your typical training camp story.
For most people, marijuana would be it. It’s kind of a party drug, but it is also said to help combat sports athletes dealing with pain from long-term injuries and otherwise.
But that was just too mainstream for ‘Triple C’. So the former Olympic gold medalist and two-division UFC champion decided to hang out with ‘Uncle Mike’ and try some proper psychedelics.
“I did the toad with (Mike) Tyson. He is the one who introduced me to it. Dude, the first time I did it, was beautiful, dude. You forgive those who have harmed you”, he told Adesanya on the Pound 4 Pound podcast.
Their shared experience took place in Antigua, guided by a shaman, where Cejudo witnessed Tyson confronting his past during the session. When it was Cejudo’s turn, the experience transported him through vivid memories of his childhood, revealing deep-seated emotions and prompting a profound sense of forgiveness and understanding towards his mother.
He described the sensation as being both terrifying and enlightening, likening it to a personal judgment day that ultimately brought him peace and clarity.
Interestingly, during the podcast, we learnt that Cejudo is not the only one who has had psychedelic experiences.
Exhausted from having lost three fights against Alex Pereira, former middleweight champion, Adesanya also tried his hand at some mind-bending drugs to finally secure a win.
Adesanya’s secret sauce
At UFC 287 in 2023, the script seemed to have been written. It was UFC 281 all over again, and their two fights in Glory Kickboxing before that.
While the fight was close, Pereira appeared to have been coming into his own in the second round, and had Izzy pressed to the cage. It looked like he was just about to tee off on the Kiwi fighter with his signature left hook and secure yet another KO.
And yet Adesanya was so tuned in that despite knowing he was half a second away from that KO, kept his eyes open and countered with an expertly placed left to a squared off Pereira, catching him by surprise.
Before the Brazilian could make sense of what happened, Adesanya, who had been pressed against the cage, bounced right off it and, with the achieved torque, cracked Pereira’s face with a powerful right.
Izzy cracks him with what appeared to be a left jab of sorts before Pereira falls to the ground.
Talking about the win, Izzy got real about his mindset leading into that fight, and dropped a pretty wild detail.
“For the Pereira fight, I did three macro shroom trips… in the shower,” he said, laughing. “It helped me just f**king hone in. It’s different—I don’t go too deep, but I can feel myself, like, way deeper. Maybe it’s ancestors or something, but I felt connected on a whole new level”, he noted.
Adesanya said he’s all about using psychedelics to shift his perspective. “I like to alter my state once in a while. You take the blinders off… it’s so vulnerable, but you learn a lot.”
Hopefully, he does more of the same, now that he’s called out Sean Strickland for a rematch.
