Athletes
Henry Cejudo: "Everything Is At Stake"
Former Bantamweight Champ Breaks Down Where He’s At Ahead Of Main Event Clash With Song Yadong In Seattle
Henry Cejudo pressed pause on his MMA career while still at the peak of his powers, fresh off successfully defending his UFC bantamweight title with a second-round stoppage win over Dominick Cruz. He was a two-weight world champion and Olympic gold medalist — “Triple C,” one of the greatest combat sports athletes of all time — and he decided to take a sabbatical.
When he returned three days shy of three years later, he walked right into a bantamweight title fight with then-champion Aljamain Sterling, looking to reclaim the throne he had previously abdicated and the title he never lost in competition, but it wasn’t meant to be. After dropping a split decision to Sterling at UFC 288, he returned against the champion’s close friend and divisional standout Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298, losing this time by an even wider margin.
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“F***, it’s a chip on my shoulder,” Cejudo said when asked about his struggles since returning. “I mean, nobody wants to make ‘the greatest comeback of all time’ and you’re f***ing 0-2, but it’s part of the game.
“There is always a 50 percent chance you may lose, particularly in this sport, and it’s humbling. It’s a lot of different emotions, but it’s also motivating.”
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The 38-year-old has used these setbacks to fuel his preparations for Saturday’s main event showdown with Song Yadong in Seattle, a fight that both makes a great deal of sense from a divisional standpoint, and is of massive importance for each of its two principals.
For the former champion, it’s not only an opportunity to get back into the win column against a Top 10 competitor, but also another chance to measure himself against one of the division’s best, and make another assessment of where he’s at and whether he wants to continue making the walk to the Octagon going forward.
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“Nobody wants to continue losing,” Cejudo said, smiling. “But sometimes failure is not a bad thing because it’s also an indicator that lets you know, ‘Hey man, it’s time to move on.’
“I’m not one of these guys that’s gonna hold on forever; I’m not a jealous ex-girlfriend. I think I’ve done some amazing things in combat sports, period, but (the position I’m in) is bittersweet, to say the least.
“Everything is at stake, man,” continued the always engaging Fight Ready standout. “In every single fight that you compete in, everything is always at stake because people always recognize you according to your last fight. Your last fight is what defines you, typically, so there is so much at stake in the sense where…”
“It doesn’t matter how great camp has gone or anything like that; you’ve got to be able to see the results in the Octagon. Who is gonna get their hand raised? How did you look? How did you feel? Is your heart still 100 percent in it?
“There is a lot at stake, in that sense, but I think the cool thing about my career is that I will forever go down as one of the greatest combat athletes of all time, reigning in two different sports. I never thought that I would be competing this late in my career, but I’m also grateful for it because I’m using half of my life to where I can say, ‘Keep going until you fall out of love with it or your body falls out.’
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“There’s a lot at stake, but I’m just grateful; I’m grateful to compete in a big arena, main event against Song.”
If all that sounds like a man who has made peace with this being the end of the line, your read wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, but it also doesn’t mean Cejudo is poised to pack it in come Saturday evening, as well.
The truth is that for as much as he now spends a ton of time breaking down other competitors and analyzing their performances, the Arizona-based superstar is most critical of his own efforts and commits as much time — if not more — to breaking down his own game and giving an honest assessment of his place in the division.
Full Fight | Henry Cejudo vs Marlon Moraes
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Full Fight | Henry Cejudo vs Marlon Moraes
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Heading into this weekend’s matchup with Song, everything feels as it should, feels like it did when he was winning and defending world titles and standing triumphant as a two-weight world champion, but the critical veteran knows that how he feels in the gym, going through camp, is not how to gauge where he stands.
“One hundred percent — that’s where my mind is taking me and my body still feels good, so one hundred percent I do think it’s doable,” Cejudo said in regard to potentially chasing down the title and physically feeling able to do so. “But talking is one thing; backing it up with action is another, and I’ve always been a person that has held myself accountable.
“As much as I critique others through my channels, I’m my No.1 fan and my worst critic; I give it to myself, too. I think that’s what has made me successful is that there is a real honesty to me, I’m able to be real honest with myself, and for that reason, I’m able to let things fly and go after it; take risks.
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“That’s how I feel for this fight.”
He’s also spurred on by the dangerous opponent that will be standing across from him this weekend inside Climate Pledge Arena, as he too touches down in Seattle with something to prove on Saturday night.
Now in his eighth year on the UFC roster, Song has been a mainstay in the Top 15 for the last several years, but stumbled in his first two opportunities to climb into title contention, first losing to Cory Sandhagen after a gnarly cut forced their entertaining clash to be halted before the start of the fifth round, and then most recently dropping a decision to ex-titleholder Petr Yan last March at UFC 299.
In each instance, the 27-year-old from Heilongjiang, China had positive moments and showed that he’s a bona fide Top 10 talent, but, at the same time, he was clearly a step behind the pair that once faced each other for the interim title and remain fixtures in the title conversation in the 135-pound weight class.
While Cejudo is looking to prove to himself that he is still capable of toppling a talented fighter like Song, the gifted “Kung Fu Kid” will be out to show that he can beat one of the division’s elite and is himself ready to be included in those top-end discussions about what comes next in the bantamweight ranks.
"I like the fact that my back is against the wall,” Cejudo said about the main event pairing. “He probably feels the same way, coming off a loss to Petr Yan; I think he knows the level of competition that is.
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“I think his power — he has power — and he’s a counterpuncher,” he continued, offering an assessment of what makes Song dangerous. “He’s beaten good guys and he’s put away good guys. He has power and you’ve gotta respect that. Guys that have power are the most dangerous guys, but the fire can get them burnt, too, because they risk it all through power; they can turn themselves into you, too.
“I think his youth, being 27, and he’s from a great camp — he’s training with Urijah Faber, so I’m sure they’re doing a lot of wrestling, but it’s just different when you actually get in there.
“Is he the real deal? 100 percent,” he added. “He’s a scary dude, full of muscle.”
It’s strange to suggest that a fighter that once held UFC titles in two weight classes simultaneously could be at a major career crossroads just one fight removed from challenging for the title, but that’s truthfully where Cejudo stands at this moment.
His triumphant return has yet to produce a triumph inside the Octagon, and he’s set to step in with a talented opponent more than a decade his junior, hoping to prove to himself more than anyone else that he still has what it takes to compete at the highest levels of the sport, because that’s the only place he wants to be.
Which is why it wasn’t surprising that when asked how good it will feel to earn a victory, to translate those weeks of strong effort in the gym into tangible results on Saturday, Cejudo acknowledged that he’s already thinking about the opportunities a win this weekend could bring him later in the year.
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“It’s gonna feel good, but the job’s not done,” he said. “What was that quote when they asked Tom Brady, ‘Which one is your favorite Super Bowl win?’ He said, ‘the next one,’ and obviously I’m not looking past Song by any means — that dude can put anyone out if they’re not careful — but I also believe in my abilities and skills.
“So after I get done with this, it’s gonna be on to the next one. This is my last chance of going for the title, and it’s all or nothing.”
And with that in mind, he’s not ruling out any possibilities when it comes to figuring out a path back to UFC gold.
“I would love to find an opponent that could get me to the title. You’ve got to remember, too, that I reigned over two divisions at one point, so I’m not opting out of 125 pounds either, but I do have my eyes set on Song.
“I’ve gotta get back into the win column, and then it’s consistency,” he added. “Take some time, take the family out, do my thing, and then get back to work again.”
UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song took place live from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on February 22, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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