Should Henry Cejudo still be fighting? ‘Triple C’ has achieved everything there is to achieve in this sport. And at 38 years of age, he doesn’t quite seem as spruced up anymore either, which was evident from his fight against Song Yadong over the weekend in Seattle. As such, his former opponent Demetrious Johnson, wants the former champion to retire for a second time in five years.
Johnson himself called it a day on his spectacular career in combat sports last September and has since switched his hand to grappling. Meanwhile, after dealing with a third straight defeat at UFC Seattle over the weekend, Cejudo has not enjoyed the best run of form since his return to the Octagon in 2023.
Initially hanging up his gloves after landing two titles back in 2020, Cejudo had returned to his former bantamweight stomping ground in search of gold again. However, with his weekend technical decision loss, that ambition seems far removed from reality. Even though he might claim Yadong’s eye poke left him unable to fight the next two rounds, Cejudo was already en route to a 5-round decision loss when it happened.
Sharing his own thoughts on Cejudo’s skid, Johnson has urged the Olympian to save his legacy and stop fighting.
“I would like to see him retire,” Johnson said on YouTube. “He’s got two beautiful children. He’s got a beautiful wife. There’s no reason to fight and keep risking his health.“, DJ added.
Demetrious Johnson urges foe-turned-friend Henry Cejudo to hang up the gloves. pic.twitter.com/ra4SOE8Ecp
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 25, 2025
However, it doesn’t seem like Cejudo is taking this unsolicited advice to heart.
Cejudo asks Yadong for rematch
Cejudo has already staked his claim to fight Yadong again- next, in fact. Frustrated with the way UFC Seattle went, Cejudo took to Twitter to call out Yadong to remind him of the rematch that was promised.
“Your face at the end says it all. You know you didn’t defeat me. Learn how to close your fists and sign the damn contract!”, Triple C bellowed.
Run it back @danawhite !!!@SongYadongLFG you told me you wanted a rematch. Your face at the end says it all. You know you didn’t defeat me. Learn how to close your fists and sign the damn contract! pic.twitter.com/jSb5eg2ohI
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 24, 2025
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the fight is going to happen since UFC bossman Dana White isn’t too keen on it. During the post-fight presser at UFC Seattle, White was asked if he would like to see Cejudo run it back with Yadong. Without so much as a flinch in his voice, White shut down any prospect of it happening.
Dana White is NOT down with a Song Yadong vs. Henry Cejudo rematch after #UFCSeattle and won’t comment on Cejudo’s behavior before it was waved off. pic.twitter.com/FYHUnOPaHX
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 23, 2025
Needless to say, with his knowledge in mind, Johnson’s advice does seem quite sound at this moment. However, it would also make sense if Cejudo doesn’t listen, considering the bitter rivalry between the two during their primes.
Triple C’s unending ambition
Kentucky star Johnson has an all-too-familiar history with the Cejudo. First fighting the ex-two-weight champion in 2016, Johnson would defend his flyweight title dominantly in a first-round knockout win in ‘Sin City’. However, going on to climb the title ladder again, two years later, Cejudo would send Johnson packing to Singapore with ONE Championship.
After ending Johnson’s unmatched streak at flyweight, Cejudo would go on to kickstart his own reign with a close decision win- before later capturing bantamweight spoils and retiring in 2020.
Since then, he has successfully defended the flyweight belt, moved up in weight to bantamweight and become the champion there, and successfully defended the 135 lbs belt as well. With an Olympic medal on top of it, Johnson is right. Cejudo doesn’t need to step foot inside an octagon ever again,
However, it seems Cejudo is unwilling to end his decorated run in the sport in the midst of such a massive losing streak.
