- Henry Cejudo received a special recognition for becoming the first UFC fighter to reach a total of 75 clean USADA tests
- “Triple C” will be making his UFC return in two months
Henry Cejudo has yet to make his highly-anticipated UFC return but already has something to be very proud of. During UFC 285 fight week, “Triple C” was honored by the promotion as the first UFC fighter to have been tested clean by USADA.
Quite a feat
As most of us know, cheating through PEDs has ultimately become a major issue in combat sports and the UFC has been very hands-on in reprimanding those who failed to comply. On the other hand, the promotion decided that it’s also proper to commend those who constantly passed USADA’s rigorous tests.
In a ceremony during UFC 285 fight week, Cejudo, who re-entered the USADA testing pool last year, was among those who were honored for reaching the most numbers of clean USADA tests.
The former two-division champion topped the vaunted group of cleanest UFC fighters with a staggering total of 75 clean tests, while middleweight contender Derek Brunson and featherweight contender Brian Ortega both logged 50 apiece.
“First of all, thank you Jeff [Novitzky], thank you Donna, for bringing USADA into this. You know as an Olympic athlete since – I wanna say since 2004 I’ve been tested. And it’s just good to know that – and it happens at times, where you don’t know if the other side is clean. But just the fact that my conscious is clean with everything that I’ve done, I just wanna say thank you for bringing USADA and for keeping this sport as clean as you guys have,” a thrilled Cejudo said after receiving the honor.
Up for another run
In two months, fans will get to see Cejudo, back in action when he finally makes his long-awaited return at UFC 288. Cejudo hopes to make another emphatic run for the bantamweight championship and was rewarded with an instant title shot against reigning 135-pound king Aljamain Sterling.
The 36-year-old has not fought in the UFC since 2020. In his last trip to the Octagon, Cejudo defended his bantamweight strap against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.
Sterling, meanwhile, is looking to defend his title for the third time since becoming the bantamweight division champ in 2021.
