Henry Cejudo Says He'll Retire from MMA If He Loses to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298

Former UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is putting his career on the line this weekend.

Per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, Cejudo confirmed on Wednesday that he will retire if he loses his fight against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 on Saturday.

Martin added that Cejudo said if he wins he will be going after the winner of next month's bantamweight title fight between reigning champion Sean O'Malley and Marlon "Chito" Vera. Getting past Dvalishvili will be no easy task, as the Georgian is riding a nine-fight win streak into Saturday's event.

Of course, most of Cejudo's declarations should be taken with a grain of salt. The self-proclaimed "King of Cringe" recently made waves when he appeared to part ways with his longtime head trainer Eric Albarracin during the filming of the countdown show for UFC 298, but this week he played it off as some sort of prank.

Cejudo previously retired from MMA in 2020 after he defended his bantamweight title with a second-round TKO victory over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. While he relinquished his title, he continued to poke at other bantamweight and flyweight fighters in hopes of keeping himself relevant.

Cejudo returned to the Octagon after a three-year absence in May 2023 when he challenged then-bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling in the main event of UFC 288. He lost a split decision and was initially expected to have a quick turnaround fight against Vera at UFC 292 in August, but he withdrew from the fight in June with a shoulder injury.

Despite his long list of cringeworthy moments, Cejudo's legacy in combat sports is already cemented, as he is an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling and a former two-division world champion in the UFC. If his career comes to an end on Saturday, the 37-year-old can ride off into the sunset knowing he was one of the best lighter-weight fighters the UFC has ever seen.