Latest news with #Cejudo
USA Today
28-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Henry Cejudo on what makes 'greatest bantamweight of all time' Merab Dvalishvili so good
Henry Cejudo on what makes 'greatest bantamweight of all time' Merab Dvalishvili so good Henry Cejudo had high praise for former UFC foe Merab Dvalishvili. Cejudo (16-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) lost to Dvalishvili by unanimous decision at UFC 298. Dvalishvili went on to dethrone Sean O'Malley to become bantamweight champion at UFC 306, and notched his first title defense by handing Umar Nurmagomedov his first loss at UFC 311. Olympic gold medalist wrestler and former UFC dual-champion Cejudo was put in unfamiliar territory by Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) when he was taken down five times in their fight. "I knew Merab was really, really good with his chain fighting," Cejudo said on the JAXXON PODCAST. "So, it's not even wrestling, it's how you chain it. That's what separates them. Chaining is really putting the punches together and boom, the level change comes. Rather than just you maybe throwing a right hand and all of a sudden the level change comes. "He's able to mix it very good with his fakes and feints into takedowns. He's a f*cking machine. It's his cardio, it's his conditioning. It's the same reason why he can't knock people out because he just knows that certain threshold where he could just keep it there and take it there. He can't necessarily finish you, but he'll f*cking drown you." Dvalishvili will run things back with O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the UFC 316 main event on June 7 from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Cejudo sticks by his statement that Dvalishvili is the greatest bantamweight of all time. "I got to give credit to Merab and this is why I would say he's the greatest bantamweight of all time," Cejudo said. "Maybe he doesn't have the title defenses, but look at who he's beat. Yeah (he's better than Dillashaw). Look at the list of who he's beat and how he's beat them. There's a big difference."
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘The Wrestling World Has Taken A Hit Today'
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC Wrestlers stick together. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) super prospect Bo Nickal suffered his first professional loss when Reinier de Ridder delivered a devastating knee to the liver in the co-main event of UFC Des Moines last night (Sat., May 3, 2025) from inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa (watch highlights). Advertisement While some fans mocked Nickal's 'humbling' setback, former UFC two-division champion and fellow elite wrestler Henry Cejudo offered words of encouragement to the three-time NCAA Division I national champion from Penn State University via social media. 'The wrestling world has taken a hit today,' Cejudo wrote. 'Keep your head up @NoBickal, this is not the end. I got finished by Demetrious Johnson with a similar body shot, and I went on to avenge that loss and become champion. You are capable of doing the same. Get back on your horse, brother.' Indeed, Cejudo's own journey mirrors Nickal's setback. At UFC 197, 'Mighty Mouse' destroyed him with knees in his first title shot (watch it); however, Cejudo rebounded to become the fourth simultaneous two-divisional champion. The difference is that Cejudo had 11 fights under his belt when he faced his first loss, bringing more experience than Nickal, who is still raw and early in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Advertisement As 'Triple C' emphasized, Nickal's journey is far from over. He is a phenomenal athlete with untapped potential in mixed martial arts and has the tools to rebound stronger. To accelerate his growth, Nickal should aim to compete more frequently than his current pace of two fights per year, gaining the experience needed to sharpen his skills. Maybe he should fight 'cans' again? For complete UFC Des Moines results, coverage, and highlights click HERE. More from
USA Today
15-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Henry Cejudo: Max Holloway '100 percent' beats UFC 314 version of Alexander Volkanovski
Henry Cejudo urges Max Holloway to remain at featherweight and challenge Alexander Volkanovski. Volkanovski (27-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) reclaimed the featherweight belt by defeating Diego Lopes (27-6 MMA, 6-1 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 314 main event at Kaseya Center in Miami. Multiple top contenders such as UFC 314 winners Yair Rodriguez and Jean Silva, as well as Movsar Evloev, are vying for a shot at Volkanovski. However, Cejudo suggests former champion Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) instead. Although Holloway is 0-3 in title fights against Volkanovski, Cejudo sees him winning this time around. 'I feel like 145 is wide open,' Cejudo told MMA Junkie. 'I feel like the person who should come back is Max Holloway. I think Max Holloway does a number on everybody at that weight class. Yes, 100 percent (he beats Volkanovski). Obviously he did get knocked out by Ilia (Topuria) too, but I just feel like his volume, I feel like he's healthier, he's got the better chin, and I feel like it'll definitely be different this time around.' Cejudo explained that he didn't like what he saw out of Volkanovski defensively in terms of his reaction time. 'Volkanovski did look good, but if he gets touched up, I almost feel like there's something to it,' Cejudo said. 'Like he over-exaggerates when Diego was hitting him. He's got to be careful with that. I can go back and see why is it that Ilia Topuria ended up knocking him out. 'He does a lot of things good, but he does a lot of things wrong, particularly defensively. He's always doing this (leans back) or he'll go for the takedown, and he'll come up without his hands coming up, and I feel like if Diego really invested in that hook, it would be a little different.'
USA Today
15-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Henry Cejudo: Michael Chandler must 'consider retirement' after one more fight
MIAMI – Henry Cejudo can relate to Michael Chandler's current situation. Chandler (23-10 MMA, 2-5 UFC) suffered his third consecutive loss when he was stopped by Paddy Pimblett in Saturday's UFC 314 co-main event at Kaseya Center. On a three-fight losing skid himself, Cejudo (16-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) is looking to compete one more time before calling it a career. He urges Chandler to consider doing the same. 'I'm 0-3 now, so I get it, Chandler,' Cejudo told MMA Junkie. 'He probably has to get one more and just consider retirement. That's a lot of beatings, man.' Cejudo thinks Chandler never lived up to his potential in the UFC. The former Bellator champion had competitive fights with the upper echelon of the UFC's lightweight division but wound up falling short against Charles Oliveira twice, Justin Gaethje, and Dustin Poirier. 'I think Chandler could have been the best in the world,' Cejudo said. 'He's too much of a crowd pleaser and that has really bit him in the ass. Mike Perry was a crowd pleaser, too. There's only a certain time before the UFC just says, 'Hey man, thank you for pleasing us, but we got to move on.' I feel like Chandler, they're probably going to, at this point, maybe the UFC might give him a younger guy, and that's typically what happens in this game.' For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 314.
USA Today
10-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC 314's Jim Miller all for fight-ending eye pokes resulting in disqualification losses
MIAMI – Jim Miller is on board with big penalizations for eye pokes. Eye pokes have caused many controversial moments in the UFC as of late, most recently when Henry Cejudo was on the receiving end of a fight-ending one against Song Yadong in the UFC Fight Night 252 headliner. Cejudo was upset with referee Jason Herzog's handling of the situation, which resulted in a loss on his record. Cejudo has struggled with his vision since, and plans on competing only one more time before retiring. Miller (38-18 MMA, 27-17 UFC), who takes on Chase Hooper (15-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) on Saturday's UFC 314 prelims from Kaseya Center (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), was asked if he'd be OK for fight-ending eye pokes to result in disqualification losses. Miller wants to see them treated as a foul. 'Yeah I would – I would,' Miller told MMA Junkie and other reporters Wednesday at UFC 314 media day. 'And honestly if that was the case, if you knew that you were going to get disqualified for a poke, I guarantee that you're going to see a dramatic drop in the amount of pokes that you see. Accidents do happen. It does happen.' Miller admits he's been guilty of committing eye pokes himself, and would accept getting disqualified. 'I have been close to poking people in the eye in grappling situations, and when I fought Donald Cerrone the first time, he hurt me to the body in the very first exchange of that fight,' Miller said. 'I remember exactly where we were in the octagon, he had me against the cage in his corner, and I tried to shove him away because I wanted some f*cking space, and I felt my finger go into his eye a little bit, and he hit me really, really hard right after that. 'Had the ref stopped the fight for it – hey man, I'm a big boy. I'm a grown man. It was my f*ck up. That's why it happened. I was hurt, I didn't want to be in that situation, and if we're going to have rules, we should follow them. Honestly, I do believe that if we're going to start actually treating the foul like a foul, then it should be something that causes a disqualification.' For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 314.
