Henry Cejudo, a former two-division UFC champion and Olympic gold medalist, concluded his career with a fierce three-round battle against Payton Talbott at UFC 323, despite losing on the scorecards and sustaining significant injuries.
Henry Cejudo aimed to leave everything in the Octagon for his final fight at UFC 323. Mission accomplished? Absolutely.
The former two-division champ went toe-to-toe with Payton Talbott. It was a three-round slugfest, and Cejudo absorbed 156 strikes. By the end, he sported a nasty cut under his eye. Swelling, too. But man, what a show!
After the fight, UFC CEO Dana White shared a photo of Cejudo’s battered face. “Bad ass fight!” was the caption. Classic Dana.
This wasn’t the ending Cejudo hoped for. His last bout against Song Yadong was marred by eye pokes, leading to a technical decision loss. Not the way he wanted to go out.
Saturday night was different. Another war, but he fell short on the scorecards. Still, he paid tribute to Talbott.
“Payton’s the future,” Cejudo said. “I want to keep mentoring him. This put a good stamp on the end.”
Cejudo retires as a legend. A two-division UFC champ who defended both bantamweight and flyweight titles. Oh, and don’t forget that Olympic gold in wrestling from 2008. What a career!