Henry Cejudo is one of the best to ever compete in the sport of MMA. He held two UFC belts at the same time before retiring. Cejudo has since returned to the octagon. He recently lost a decision loss at UFC 298 against Merab Dvalishvili. The former two-division champion believed that retirement would have to wait. He took out a page from the famous movie The Wolf of Wall Street to get his point across.
Cejudo directly referenced an iconic scene from 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street. The scene showed Leonardo DiCaprio’s character refusing to leave his company despite intense legal pressure. This is what Cejudo said:
The show goes on. I am not f****** leaving! Guys, yeah, Saturday night, it took me a minute. It was all or nothing for me. And yeah, I meant it. Or did I?Henry Cejudo via his YouTube channel
Cejudo took on rising bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili and hoped to set up a quick path back to UFC gold. His plan did not come to fruition. Henry Cejudo took time to consider walking away but ultimately decided his legacy inside the octagon remains incomplete.
Henry Cejudo still needs to recuperate from an injured forearm. ‘Triple C’ clarified that he anticipated competing again this year and not fading into retirement. The back-to-back losses were no doubt devasting for the proud competitor. However, he took a page out of Wall Street’s most famous film. Henry Cejudo seemed ready to double down on achieving more greatness inside the octagon.
Why did Henry Cejudo retire at the peak of his career?
Henry Cejudo raised eyebrows across the MMA world when he announced his retirement in 2020. This came just after defending the bantamweight belt. Cejudo finished legend Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. ‘Triple C‘ walked away from the sport even though he was in his prime at 33 years old.
Cejudo broke down the surprising decision to hang up the gloves following his TKO victory over Cruz at UFC 249. He had accomplished everything he set out to do in the sport. Cejudo won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling in 2008.
Boredom had set in after getting through legendary victims like Cruz, TJ Dillashaw, and Demetrious Johnson. Cejudo also felt he could relate to heavyweight ruler Jon Jones regarding his lack of motivation against less-than-elite competition.
Double champ Henry Cejudo announces he is retiring just after defending his title. #UFC249
— Yuvraj (@_singhyuv) May 10, 2020Cejudo’s retirement only lasted two and a half years before the urge to chase more glory brought him back. Boredom and lack of challenges led a dominant Henry Cejudo to retire unexpectedly in 2020. His competitive fires continued to burn, and he returned to the octagon in pursuit of further greatness.
In case you missed it:
ncG1vNJzZmiemafAtb%2FPqKmtsl6YvK571J%2BaZqaVrMButMSnqbJlk5q3trDOZquao5WoerGtxp5kqK2kYrynedaoo59ln5t6uK3LpWSsrKKasrV506hkmqaepMKvr8RmrGaspae7brvNZqmerJmntq%2Bzjg%3D%3D