ANAHEIM, Calif. – Dana White saw no need for Henry Cejudo to have a post-fight interview after UFC 298. Cejudo, who had previously announced that he would retire if he lost, took off his gloves following a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili on Saturday at Honda Center. Despite this, Cejudo was not given the opportunity to discuss his future in the immediate aftermath of the fight. White, who had been critical of Cejudo’s retirement in May 2020, did not want Cejudo to overshadow Dvalishvili’s victory. “Henry Cejudo has already retired,” White explained. “He did the whole glove dropping thing. Merab went in there and easily defeated the No. 3 ranked fighter in the world and former world champion. Tonight was Merab’s night. If Cejudo wants to retire again, he can do it here or somewhere else. He won’t be given the mic tonight.”
White believes that Cejudo’s extended break from the sport has had a negative impact on his performance. When Cejudo retired in May 2020, he was on a six-fight winning streak, which included victories over Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw, and Dominick Cruz. However, since coming out of retirement in May of this year, Cejudo has suffered back-to-back losses to Aljamain Sterling and Dvalishvili. “In my opinion, you can’t take a three-year break in combat sports,” White stated. “It has never worked out well for anyone. Cejudo looked great in the first round, but I thought he started to tire in the second round. Merab only grew stronger as the fight went on.”
According to the Source mmajunkie.usatoday.com