Henry Cejudo returned to the octagon at UFC 298 to take on Merab Dvalishvili and earn his way back to a title shot. The former champion called it quits in 2020 after an impressive knockout win over Dominick Cruz. However, he returned three years later to take on Aljamain Sterling in a fight that did not go his way. Cejudo admitted that he returned to the competition and not the money. Based on recent reports, it’s fair to say that he was right.
Cejudo stepped away from the sport as a two-weight world champion in the promotion. When he returned, he fought Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288. For his title fight against Sterling, Cejudo reportedly earned a base salary of $500,000. Unfortunately, not being in a title fight has severely affected his purse. According to recent reports, Cejudo earned $150,000 for his fight against Dvalishvili. Needless to say, the news had fans split. While some fans believed he was getting paid extremely well, others were shocked at how little he was being paid.
One fan said, “Lost + retired so probably got a new contract + wasn’t a main event + No PPV points + no post fight bonus.”
Another fan added, “He’s not a draw lol plus he was the second fight on the card.”
Another fan added, “That’s high pay for being in the middle of the card. It was a contenders match. You want him to get 300k+ for not even being a co-main?”
“How is buddy gonna feed his family?”– commented a fan
“Disclosed. He made way more they all do. At his level at least”– added another fan
The UFC 298 loss draws the curtains on what has been an extremely decorated career not just in the UFC but in combat sports period for Henry Cejudo.
A closer look at Henry Cejudo’s achievements in the sport
Cejudo entered the sport as an Olympic gold medallist in freestyle wrestling. At the time, ‘Triple C’ was the youngest gold medallist in freestyle wrestling in the USA. The record has since been broken by Kyle Snyder.
Cejudo achieved simultaneous two-division champion status and is one of only four fighters to have achieved that feat. The former champion wasted the prime of his fighting career on the sidelines.
The biggest questions surrounding Cejudo will be ‘what if’. His career would have ended differently if he did not take three years away. Regardless, Cejudo will go down as one of the greatest athletes to have ever competed in combat sports.
