In his post-fight interview at UFC 288 following his split decision loss to Aljamain Sterling for the UFC Bantamweight title, Henry Cejudo had hinted at retiring from Mixed Martial Arts.
”It sucks, man. I hate losing, but it’s also been three years but….. I don’t know where to take it from here. I’m a little confused right now. If I’m not first, I’m last,” said Cejudo in his interview with Joe Rogan.
Cejudo said that he intended to fight Sean O’Malley if he beat Sterling before eventually going up a weight class to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for his featherweight title. Still, now that those plans were scuppered, he is unsure if he wants to continue fighting.
Cejudo spoke similarly in the post-fight press conference, saying he felt he won three of the five rounds but didn’t have many complaints about the final result as he knew he didn’t dominate the fight. He said he would take some time, speak to his wife and the UFC, and go from there (in regards to his future).
A little over twenty-four hours later and it looks like ‘Triple C’ has already made his mind up regarding his next move, calling out Merab Dvalishvili on Twitter earlier today.
Judging by the tweet, Cejudo aims to fight Merab at UFC Boston, with the event being targeted for August 19. Cejudo and Merab could possibly serve as the co-main event to Sterling vs O’Malley.
Merab is currently in a sticky situation as his friend and training partner (Aljamain Sterling) happens to be the UFC champion in the weight class he competes in. There is a reluctance to put the friendship aside, even if it means claiming UFC gold and all the perks of being the champion. UFC president Dana White even alluded that if Merab changed his mind about not wishing to fight Aljamain Sterling, he would replace Sean O’Malley as the number one contender.
Whether Merab is going to be healthy enough to fight Cejudo is another matter. Chris Weidman told Daniel Cormier and Laura Sanko on the UFC Weigh-In Show last week that Merab had an injury which required surgery. With Sterling being the champ, he intended to get his hand fixed so that he could spend some time recovering (around 22 weeks was the estimate by Weidman) to hold onto the #1 contender spot should Sterling lose his belt.
It would be unsurprising if Merab Dvalishvili put off his surgery to fight Cejudo as the bout would draw many eyes. With Merab being ranked #1 and unwilling to fight Sterling, a fight with Cejudo would make perfect sense, seeing as the Sean O’Malley fight will not be available for a while.
Edit: Merab is up for the bout, responding to Cejudo with a tweet of his own:
Both fighters want it. The ball is now in Dana White and the UFC’s court.
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