Newark, NJ – Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo isn’t sure what’s next for him following his loss to the current champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 on Saturday night.
“I’m out to chase greatness man. I’m just not out here just to fight. Just to hear the crowd roar, you guys tell me good job oh I think you won,” Cejudo told Cageside Press among other outlets at his post-fight scrum.
“My dream is to just reach mountains that nobody’s every climbed. That’s partially why I take my resume that serious. That’s probably why I even started this shtick.”
Cejudo’s accolades can be put up against any other fighter in the history of the sport. An Olympic gold medal, and two UFC titles on his resume make him one of the greatest combat sports athletes of all time.
“I am proud of it. Can I say it? The Olympic champ, the flyweight champ, the bantamweight champion of the world. The greatest combat athlete of all time. This is the stuff that motivates me, and it is what it is,” he said.
“I’m such a f*cking competitor man. I don’t think people realize. To me it’s all or nothing. If I’m not first I’m f*cking last.”
Retirement wasn’t something that Cejudo spoke about right after the fight given that it had just happened minutes before. The former champ-champ said he’d watch the fight back, and reflect with his family. The Cejudos have plenty to keep them with a baby on the way for the proud parents of one so far.
“I’ve got to watch the fight. It was pretty cool that Dana (White) did help me remove my gloves which is really nice. I got a nice little handshake from him too. I don’t know. I’ve got to lay back,” said Cejudo.
“My wife is pregnant. We’re getting ready to have another kid.”
The family man reflected on how fighting affects his home life with the sacrifices he makes in order to make it to a fight. Cejudo wasn’t sure he’s willing to put his family through that again.
“Even these last 2-3 months like not being able to give my kid that attention. I’m a good father man. I love spending time with my kid, I love playing with them, and it’s just like…cutting weight, not holding her, kind of neglecting that,” he said.
“Having a lot of my training partners play with her it’s almost like…a lot of you guys don’t give a f*ck, but to me the time with my kid means the world to me. Specially the fact that I have another one on the way.”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Henry Cejudo above.
