It’s all or nothing for Henry Cejudo this Saturday night.
‘Triple C’ returns to the Octagon at UFC 298 nine months removed from his failed attempt to reclaim the bantamweight world title against then-champion Aljamain Sterling. It was Cejudo’s first scrap in three years, but the former two-division titleholder still made a fight of it, narrowly walking away empty-handed via a contentious split decision.
Still sporting dreams of claiming two more world championships before hanging up his gloves, Cejudo will have to go through cardio machine and winner of his last nine fights — Merab Dvalishvili — if he hopes to once again wrap UFC gold around his waist.
Speaking with members of the media at Wednesday’s UFC 298 media scrum, Cejudo laid down his goals of winning both the bantamweight and featherweight titles in his second run with the promotion, but it all hinges on getting past Dvalishvili. If ‘Triple C’ doesn’t see his hand raised it’s Anaheim, it’ll be all she wrote for the future Hall of Famer.
“My goal, and you guys are probably gonna give me a lot of sh*t for this: The goal is still 145 pounds,” Cejudo said. “I’ve already defended my 135-pound (title). Yeah, I lost my last fight by split decision, but I’m not wavering from the goal of going up. I just feel like a win over Merab … I want whoever has that belt at 145 pounds. I feel like I’ve earned it.
“And to top all that off, this is all or nothing. I told the team, ‘It’s either gold or bust.’ I either win it all, or I’m not gonna have it all, and I’m out. I am putting that timeline, that pressure on me, because I do take this sport seriously. I’ve done everything there is do to. What the f*ck, like what do I have to prove? Now it’s a motivation more motivated by a little bit of anger. I’m pissed at myself a little bit, but I’m still motivated… 100 percent [I’ll retire] if I lose. I’m not gonna continue to fight just to fight. I’m too competitive, I want to be the best in the world.”
"It's either gold or bust. I either win it all, or I'm not going to have it all and I'm out. I'm done."
Henry Cejudo confirms he will retire from MMA (again) with a #UFC298 loss to Merab Dvalishvili. pic.twitter.com/KLffNKXGKa
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 14, 2024
Henry Cejudo Says His Fight with Merab Dvalishvili is the ‘Real’ Bantamweight Title Fight
If Cejudo manages to snap Dvalishvili’s streak, he will undoubtedly move on to a bantamweight title tilt with the winner of next month’s showdown between reigning champion ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley and Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
However, Cejudo was quick to criticize O’Malley’s choice of opponent for his first title defense, adding that his bout against Merab Dvalishvili is the “real” world title fight.
“I think even between me and Merab, this is the best fight. This is the best fight at 135 pounds,” Cejudo said. “This is the real world title. Sean’s gonna pick a No. 6, gonna pick a guy that freaking lost 50-45 to Sandhagen? Like, that’s who gets a title shot? It makes no sense, but I also get it.”
Watch the full video below:
