Demetrious Johnson makes surprising call about Henry Cejudo's future after UFC Fight Night 252
02/24/2025 12:30 PM
Demetrious Johnson urges Henry Cejudo to retire after UFC Fight Night 252.
Cejudo (16-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) suffered his third-straight loss when he dropped a technical decision to Song Yadong (22-8-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC) in Saturday’s main event at Climate Pledge Arena.
Cejudo’s loss to Song ended in unfortunate fashion when the former UFC dual-champion was rendered unable to continue after getting poked in the eye midway through Round 3. Cejudo took the full five minutes to try and recover, and opted to continue fighting until deciding that he couldn’t see at the end of Round 3.
Despite the controversial nature of the fight-ending sequence, Johnson doesn’t see a need for Cejudo to continue competing.
“He’s on a three-fight losing streak. What does he do next?” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “Does he fight again? Do they run it back? I don’t see the point of it. With Henry Cejudo being 38, Song Yadong being 27, I think you take Song Yadong and you put him back in that bantamweight contendership because the likelihood of Henry Cejudo getting opportunities to keep on fighting No. 1 contenders over and over again, I just don’t see it happening.
“Not saying that it can’t, but I don’t see it happening. Would I like to see Henry Cejudo retire? Yeah, I think so. He’s beaten me, (become) flyweight champion, defended the flyweight belt, bantamweight champion, defended the bantamweight belt. That’s more than half of the motherf*ckers on the roster are ever going to do. Yes, I know it’s such good money. It’s easy to train eight weeks and go fight, but man almost went blind.”
Johnson explains that “Triple C” has already set himself up for life after fighting.
“I would like to see him retire,” Johnson said. “He’s got a great podcast with Kamaru Usman, ‘Pound 4 Pound,’ he’s got two beautiful children, he’s got a beautiful wife, he’s got businesses. There’s no reason to fight and keep risking his health.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.
