‘Young Man’s Sport’: Rising UFC Star Prospect Urges Henry Cejudo to Step Away From MMA

Ross Markey | 02/03/2025
Henry Cejudo (red gloves) sits down after being poked in the eye by Song Yadong (blue gloves) in the bantamweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Climate Pledge Arena.

Urged continually this week to hang up his gloves, Henry Cejudo has been warned MMA is a “young man’s sport” that he’s not compatible with anymore. Cejudo, who headlined UFC Seattle last weekend, suffered his third loss consecutively since his return.

Once holding two titles during his octagon tenure, Cejudo has fallen well short of expectations since returning from his first bout of retirement.

Triple C had called it a day back in 2020 during COVID-19, only to make a return a few years later. But his performance has been rather lackluster since the comeback. He has looked out of depth against fighters like Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, and now Yong Sadong.

Even though technically, he had to pull out of the Sadong fight after being poked in the eye, the consensus remained that he Yadong just looked far too dominant against the former world champ. Still, Cejudo is pushing for a rematch, something UFC Vegas 103 headliner Asu Almabayev warns him against

“If you think about it, (Henry) Cejudo is not the same fighter that he used to be,” Almabayev told MMA Fighting. “If you say to yourself that I’m going to retire, if you say to the world that I’m going to retire, then you should probably stay retired. This is a young man’s sport.“

“This is something where if your body and your mind tell you that it’s time to go, then it’s probably time to go,” Almabayev concluded. 

Almabayev’s remarks come just days after Cejudo’s arch-rival Demetrious Johnson, also called for the Olympian to let the fight game go.

Cejudo’s Dillema

After calling for an immediate rematch with Yadong, Cejudo was urged by ‘Mighty Mouse’ to consider why he even bothers competing anymore.
“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.
But having won two Octagon titles and an Olympic gold medal, the LA native seems hugely unlikely to go out in such a humbling skid. Especially when his first stint at a retirement speech came with UFC gold still wrapped around his belt.
It must have been a high unlike another. And Cejudo would hope it was worth it because the decision gets torn to shreds every day by his peers.
“Yes, it was one of the most surprising things”, UFC veteran Chael Sonnen has said of Cejudo’s decision to retire.
Explaining how it was a waste of a moment since Cejudo could have easily cashed in millions from a title run, Sonnen added, “Henry was fighting for the championship that he brought against Dominick Cruz. 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.“
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Cejudo will ever find himself in that position again. And with UFC bossman Dana White openly asserting he doesn’t want to see a rematch between Cejudo and Yadong, the future has just become far more uncertain for the former champion.
Post Edited By: Smrutisnat Jena
Asu Almabayev Henry Cejudo

About the author

Ross Markey

Ross Markey is a combat sports reporter based out of the Republic of Ireland, boasting more than 9 years experience covering a host of sports including football, boxing, and mixed martial arts. Ross has attended numerous live mixed martial arts events in the past during his tenure in the industry and his coverage of the UFC in particular spans a wide array of topics, reports, and editorials.

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