Henry Cejudo is a former UFC double champion. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
Retirement is no stranger to the former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo. However, she has been a ghost haunting the fighter's life in recent days. He is still dealing with the after-effects of the eye injury he suffered in his defeat to song yadong, at UFC Seattle, which happened in February. For Cejudo, the episode served as a warning.
The former flyweight (up to 56,7 kg) and bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg) champion returned to the UFC in 2023, after three years away, but was defeated by aljamain sterling and by the current champion Merab Dvalishvili. With a two-fight losing streak, Cejudo would attempt redemption in a fight against song yadong No. UFC Seattle. Instead, the former double champion received a blow to the eye at the end of the third round and was no longer able to continue fighting, resulting in a defeat by technical decision.
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Cejudo not only came out on top, but he is still dealing with vision problems two months later. Speaking in a recent interview with the US portal 'MMA Junkies', the 38-year-old fighter admitted he may be forced to retire due to eye damage. Although Henry Cejudo still wants to compete, he is not willing to risk long-term damage given his family.
“I sound like a crybaby, but it’s the worst injury I’ve ever had. I actually got a second opinion, I went to Sean [O’Malley’s] doctor. The other one, he said my eye would be fine in a month, but every time I watch TV or look down, I still see double. It’s been a month now and it was a pinky that went in [my eye] and I’m still not 100 percent. My doctor said it would be like another month.”Korean zombie' [Chan sung jung] has the same symptoms, and that’s why he had to retire. I’m seeing double. When I put my eye a certain way, I see two feet. “Luckily, it’s only when I lie down or look down, but it took about five days for my eye to stop seeing double when I got hurt. It’s not that I can’t see, but I was seeing two people,” he said.
Moment when Henry Cejudo has an eye hit by song yadong. Photo: Reproduction/UFC
Cejudo said his priority is his health. The eye injury has changed his reality and made him think differently about the consequences that can arise from stepping into the Octagon.
“I’ve never seen the sport of mixed martial arts as something dangerous. I talked to my wife and I think this might be my last fight. One more and that’s it… I want to be able to play with my kids. I want to be able to not lose a fucking eye. That’s kind of how I feel right now, to be quite honest with you,” he added.
Cejudo said that retiring at this time would not be ideal, but everything will depend on whether his current situation actually improves.
“I don’t want to leave — I don’t mind losing, but I don’t want to leave and get hit in my damn eye. It just can’t end like this. And I’m grateful. I love Dana (White) and everybody. This is not a UFC shot. They’ve given me a platform to really help my family, to really put me in a great position to where I can prepare for the future. But at the same time, my health comes first above everything else. I’m not sure what the UFC has planned (for me). I definitely want to fight sometime in the fall. Let my eye heal, they said another 30 days, but if it doesn’t get better, I just don’t know when I’ll be back. I think this is the last one,” he concluded.
Henry Cejudo is currently planning to file an appeal to overturn his February defeat to song yadong for a 'no-contest' (no result). However, so far, the appeal has not been registered with the Washington State Department of Licensing.
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