ANAHEIM, Calif. – Dana White didn’t see a reason for Henry Cejudo to get the mic after UFC 298.
Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) removed his gloves after losing a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili Saturday at Honda Center – which he said he would do if he lost. However, Cejudo never got to address his fighting future in the immediate aftermath because he wasn’t given a post-fight in-cage interview.
White had no intention of giving Cejudo the mic if he lost. He was critical of Cejudo retiring in May 2020, and didn’t want to see him steal Dvalishvili’s (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) shine.
“Henry Cejudo already retired, OK? He did the whole drop the gloves thing,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC 298. “Tonight was Merab’s night.
“Merab went in there, fought the No. 3 guy in the world, former world champion, and easily won the fight. Tonight was Merab’s night. If he wants to retire again, he can do that here (at the press conference) or somewhere else. You don’t give the mic to Cejudo tonight.”
White thinks the long layoff hurt Cejudo. When Cejudo retired in May 2020, he was on a six-fight winning streak – including title wins over Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw, and Dominick Cruz.
But since coming out of retirement this past May, Cejudo has dropped back-to-back fights to Aljamain Sterling and Dvalishvili.
“In my opinion, you can’t take three years off in combat sports,” White said. “It’s never done well for anybody, and Cejudo looked great in the first round. I thought he started to gas out in the second round. Merab just got stronger as the fight went on.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
