Anaheim, CA – Henry Cejudo’s future in the sport of MMA will all depend on the result of his fight with Merab Dvalishvili, at UFC 298.
At the UFC 298 media day, the former flyweight and bantamweight champion revealed that if he loses to the Georgian on Saturday night, he will 100% retire.
“It’s big time pressure because I know I got to fight, you got to put these clauses on you. I’m not going to continue to fight just to fight, I’m too competitive man, I want to be the best in the world, I want that belt and I really want that other one (featherweight).
“So if I can’t have that, then I don’t want anything, keep it all.”
Merab Dvalishvili on the other hand is at the peak of his powers, having not suffered an MMA loss since 2018. Cejudo though, believes Merab has just weaponised his cardio, and in fact isn’t a dominant wrestler.
“It’s just cardio. His gift is not even the wrestling aspect of it. He understands his threshold and he knows how to control that gas-tank. He understands where is it there’s a thin line that he can push people and then continue to keep pushing there when people fall off.”
Cejudo admitted that he would favour a decision win in this fight so he can once again prove his skillset is the best in the world, but will be pulling out all the ‘tools’.
“We’re ready, and I think they (Merab’s team) know that. I’m pulling out all the tools. He’s going to come, he’s going to pressure, he’s going to shoot, you won’t be able to change Merab, that’s who he’s going to be periodically, so these last eight weeks we’ve trained for that style because he’s not going to change.”
Watch the full UFC 298 media day appearance from Henry Cejudo above.
