News Henry Cejudo announces he will “100 percent” retire if he loses against Merab this weekend

[BoxerMaurits]

 

[Pierced7681]

How do you stop the machine? Enjoy retirement Henry

 

[Siauliai]

I won't miss him but he is def high level fighter at 135. His performance against Sterling after he took a 3 year break was awesome.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

…again.

I still think it’s too bad that a “cheat code” to stardom and legacy is one fight in a higher division.

Then again, maybe he knew for a fact he would never overtake DJ for divisional GOAT….

The guy seems to know what he’s doing to live a happy life. Good on him. But if he’d kept fighting (and winning) he would probably be considered one of the ATG’s by now.

 

[Rorschachxx]

Makes sense.

 

[krelianx]

Somewhat of a late starter to the game, but what he managed to accomplish in the time he competed was remarkable. He must be one of the most naturally gifted athletes to ever compete in MMA. He's getting up there in years and hasn't been active, so it's hard to pick him against a beast like Merab.

 

[jko1355]

of course he will.. he is 37 and he just wanted to see if he could get the belt again.. his fight with Aljo was super close... and if he beats Merab he has Sean to fight who he thinks he can beat... its win or go home for him.

 

[BigTruck]

And no one will care again.

 

[World eater]

Ballsy. I like it. Man must be a poker player.

 

[Elvis.]

Career threatening match , puts massive pressure on himself, I love it

 

[Black9]

Win Get a Title Shot or Lose n Retire.

Crazy gamble.

 

[Liverkick-king56]

Stylistically probably the worst fight at BW possible.
We’ll see how much he wants it because this kind of mindset is going to be facing the outrageous pace of Merab and without the KO power to back him off he’s going to need to dig deep to win…. Unless he just absolutely schools Merab wrestling.

 

[Pierced7681]

Stylistically probably the worst fight at BW possible.
We’ll see how much he wants it because this kind of mindset is going to be facing the outrageous pace of Merab and without the KO power to back him off he’s going to need to dig deep to win…. Unless he just absolutely schools Merab wrestling.

It will ultimately come down to who has the better mma wrestling and who has the better gas tank. We already know Merab has more gas, we will find out if he can outwrestle the Olympic gold medalist.

 

[Prologue]

Cejudo two weeks after losing to Merab.

 

[Arm Barbarian]

Agreed. He had his run and did pretty damn well overall. Beat Mighty mouse (albeit very close fight) and stanky legged Dillashaw to Bolivian.

 

[sdpdude9]

He said something along the lines of not being there to just be a fighter but to be the best. At this point in his career with all his accomplishments, I can understand that sentiment.

 

[flektarn]

37 is pretty much geriatric for the 135 division.

 

[wwkirk]

I hope he wins so that possibly he makes another run.

 

[ILove4MinutesHyuna]

Clowns like this just prove Khabib is the smartest MMA fighter of all time.

 

[Goutfather]

how can henry put merab on defense for the entire fight? they’ve both got great cardio, which merab has been using to outpace his opponents. he only landed 11 of his 49 takedown attempts on yan, which speaks to yan’s defense, but i imagine the reasoning was that simply making yan defend takes away his energy and makes merab appear as the aggressor. it’s a win-win for merab. even if henry successfully defends 49 takedowns from merab without gassing, he’ll gain no points from it. imo henry needs to be the offensive wrestler, and make merab fight his own fight on defense. supposedly that’s where henry excels.