Dana White slams Henry Cejudo’s previous choice to retire.
Cejudo made the decision to step away from the sport after successfully defending his bantamweight championship against Dominick Cruz in May 2020. Despite a six-fight winning streak, which included victories over Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw, and Cruz, Cejudo decided to hang up his gloves.
After a three-year hiatus, Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) returned to face Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 288, but suffered a split decision loss. White questions Cejudo’s initial retirement.
“I find it absurd that Henry Cejudo retired,” White expressed to Kevin Iole. “When you retire, you should stay retired and never make a comeback. This guy retired when he was at the peak of his career. He was doing great. This fight is significant for both of these fighters.”
Cejudo is set to take on Merab Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in a crucial bantamweight clash on Saturday at UFC 298 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
If Cejudo fails to defeat Dvalishvili, he has stated that he intends to retire once again. On the other hand, Dvalishvili had the opportunity for a title shot after dominating former champion Petr Yan, but declined to fight his friend Sterling for the title.
Now that Sterling has lost his title to Sean O’Malley and moved up to featherweight, Dvalishvili’s path to a title shot is clearer. White openly criticized Dvalishvili’s decision to not fight Sterling.
“Merab chose to sit out and not take a title fight because his friend held the title – all of that,” White remarked. “So, in my opinion, you have two fighters who have made some career mistakes. Saturday night is a huge moment for both of them. This entire card is amazing. I’m thrilled about it.”
According to the Source mmajunkie.usatoday.com