Henry Cejudo may be nearing the end of his fighting career.
The former UFC champion in two weight classes suffered a serious eye poke from Song Yadong during their main event fight in Seattle in February. This led to an early and controversial end to the fight, with Cejudo losing by technical decision. Since then, Cejudo has discussed the significant damage to his eye and his dissatisfaction with how the referee handled the situation.
In a recent interview, Cejudo, 38 years old, mentioned that this ongoing injury might force him to retire again if his condition doesn`t improve.
Cejudo admitted that he never thought of mixed martial arts as particularly dangerous, but now he`s reconsidering. He`s been talking with his wife and believes his next fight could be his last. He would be happy to have a rematch with Song Yadong, but if that`s not possible, he`s open to fighting anyone the UFC offers.
“I want to be able to play with my kids. I don’t want to risk losing my eyesight,” Cejudo explained, expressing his honest feelings about the situation.
Cejudo initially retired in 2020 after successfully defending his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. Before that, he had a successful reign as flyweight champion, making him unique as the only person in combat sports to win both an Olympic gold medal in wrestling and UFC championships in two different divisions.
He returned to fighting in May 2023 to challenge Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 288 but lost a close decision. Since his return, Cejudo`s UFC record is 0-3.
Now, he is thinking about retiring from fighting once again.
“I might sound like I’m complaining, but this is the worst injury I’ve ever had,” Cejudo told MMA Junkie. He got a second medical opinion, even consulting with one of Sean O’Malley’s doctors. Initially, he was told his eye would recover in a month. However, he still experiences double vision when watching TV or looking down. It`s been a month since the eye poke, and despite being a small finger that caused the injury, he’s still not fully recovered. Doctors now suggest it might take another month. Cejudo mentioned that Korean Zombie had similar symptoms, which led to his retirement. Cejudo himself is experiencing double vision, especially when looking in certain directions.
“Fortunately, the double vision only occurs when I lie down or look downwards. It took about five days for the double vision to subside initially after the injury. The problem wasn`t that I couldn`t see, but I was seeing two of everything, making it difficult to judge distances and movements.”
“I feel cheated,” Cejudo added, expressing his frustration. “I wanted to continue the fight. I just wanted to fight with two functioning eyes.”
Cejudo is eager to fight one more time, if his eye heals, hoping for a proper retirement fight. However, his ability to compete depends on his eye`s condition, raising the possibility that UFC Seattle might have been the final fight of his remarkable career.
“I don’t mind losing, but I don’t want my career to end because of an eye injury,” Cejudo stated. “It just can’t end like this. I am grateful to Dana White and the UFC. They have provided me with a platform to support my family and secure my future. But ultimately, my health is the most important thing.”
“I`m not sure what the UFC has planned next,” Cejudo concluded. “I definitely want to fight sometime in the fall, to allow my eye to heal for another 30 days as suggested. But if it doesn’t improve, I’m unsure about my return. I’m thinking this could be my last fight, and that’s it.”
