Athletes
Henry Cejudo | Triple C’s Last Dance
Former Two-Division Champion On His Nicknames, His Future Plans, And His Final Fight Thoughts Ahead Of UFC 323
Saturday night will see one of the greats of the sport call time on their career as former two-division champion Henry Cejudo makes the walk for the final time at UFC 323.
Cejudo will take on rising star Payton Talbott in a bantamweight matchup on the main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. And before he completed his fight week obligations, he sat down for his final pre-fight sit-down with UFC.com, where he admitted that his overwhelming emotion heading into the bout was his appreciation of the coaches and teammates who helped him get ready for his final fight.
“I think the biggest thing is probably just gratitude, man,” he explained.
“It's not even like the glamour, or the adrenaline. I think it's more the time that the training partners (give) that are trying to get into UFC, the time that the coaches are away from their kids. That’s the stuff that really hits home for me now, as a new dad, a father of a four-year-old and a two-year-old.
“I know it might be a little cringe, but, yeah, I think it's a lot of just gratitude. Gratitude of having people that are willing to go out there and fight with you, too.”
Henry Cejudo | Greatest Hits
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Henry Cejudo | Greatest Hits
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This will be the second time Cejudo has retired from the UFC, with the former two-weight champ calling time on his career after defending the bantamweight title against former champ Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.
That retirement lasted less than a year before he eventually returned to the Octagon, but that short time away was transformative for Cejudo, who started a family and discovered new motivation for his life and career as a result.
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“I was super satisfied with my career,” he recalled.
“Even now, even though I've taken a bunch of these L’s, which sucks, I’m still very satisfied and happy with my career where I (achieved) everything that I set out to do, and then some.
“If I was to give myself advice, no, I feel like I did the right thing. I was able to start a family, learn business and really understand true love with my kids.
"You'll do anything, you'll let go of that legacy or that status where somebody could potentially get you, for these two kids that see me with just open eyes. They just want dad. And to me, that's the coolest part.”
Family will play a huge part in Cejudo’s next chapter, but he also plans to stay close to the sport by giving back and being there for fellow pros who need help.
“One of the things that I do want to do is I do want to help out other legends, and particularly legends,” he explained.
"The reason why I say this, and I’ll never forget it, after I won the Olympics, Kevin Jackson came up to me as a head Olympic coach. He's like, ‘Hey, man. Welcome to the Olympic championship club.’
“He said, ‘Just so you know, one thing is – and remember this – legends always take care of legends. When somebody's down that's part of this club, you always want to take care of them.
"And I feel like now, with fighting, I'm really good friends with a lot of these legends, and I see that there's a lot of opportunities that they could do where they can make a better living. I would like to help out on that route.”
Cejudo has already carved a successful career for himself away from fighting in the world of real estate, and said he’d love to help other retiring big-name fighters to maximize their star power in that sphere.
“There's one thing that I'm really good at – I'm good at sales and branding and connecting myself with real estate and pretty much kind of showing financial freedom to these guys,” he explained.
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"I’m getting ready to build my dream home. I'm buying a multi-million-dollar lot. If I wasn't, if I was broke, I wouldn't be able to be in this position. But I would love to help out a lot of these guys that have the name, but just don't understand how to connect the dots.”
But before he can devote more of his time to help fellow veteran fighters, Cejudo plans on slowing the momentum of a rising young prospect. Talbott has been tipped for big things in the UFC’s bantamweight division. He’s 10-1, and he’s coming off an impressive win over Felipe Lima at UFC 317 last summer. But, crucially, Cejudo has him well scouted, having trained with him in the past.
“I know Payton. Payton’s come to my house and we’ve spent time together, but this is the game that I’m in. When I say, ‘anybody, anytime, anywhere,’ I mean it,” he said.
“It is what it is. I wrestled all my friends in competition. It was always, it’s either you or me, it doesn’t mean we can’t be friends afterwards, you know?
“I like the pressure, I really do, man. I like the fact that they're giving me a tall kid that is a prominent star, and I want to spoil the party.”
During his UFC career, Cejudo has competed under a number of fighting monikers. The wholesome Olympic champion Cejudo started his UFC career as “The Messenger” before transitioning to “The King of Cringe” as he leaned more into his personality.
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Then came the nickname he loved the best, “Triple C”, as he rose to become a triple champion by adding the UFC flyweight and bantamweight titles to his Olympic gold medal.
“It’s ‘Triple C’, because it all goes back to ‘what did I want to manifest?’” he said.
“I had fun with all of them. ‘The Messenger’, I guess you could say I'm a nice guy, but I'm also a little edgy. I just wanted to be a good example in the beginning of my career, to being an Olympic champion and the whole nine (yards).
"But I was falling into it and I was just like, ‘No. I’m just more of a shit-talker,’ and that’s truly more of who I am. It wasn’t until I really started to understand the game a little bit, that I had to adapt. So that was fun.”
And while you could forgive Cejudo a moment of emotion as he makes his final walk to the Octagon, the man himself is treating it as just another day at the office.
“As of right now, the way I'm thinking now, it's just another fight,” he admitted.
“I competed so damn much in my career. I probably have over 1,000 wrestling matches. And that's matches – it’s not even including practice, you know? Thousands of rounds of sparring.
“To me, it’s all the same shit. To me, it's just personal, and it's business.”
Henry Cejudo's Legacy | UFC 30th Anniversary
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Henry Cejudo's Legacy | UFC 30th Anniversary
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That business will be concluded on Saturday night when Cejudo competes inside the Octagon for the final time. And after losing a hat-trick of decisions in his last three fights, Cejudo plans on snapping that streak and going out on a high with one more top-tier performance to see out his 22-fight MMA career.
“It's gonna be a fight. With his length and what he brings to the table, it's gonna be a fight,” he said.
“Obviously, I can't give a lot of the gameplan away, but I'm gonna have to stick to it. I think that the biggest thing is my experience.
“He is dangerous, and he does have a six-inch height advantage on me, but that doesn't mean anything unless you truly know how to use it. So it's my job to adapt and make those adjustments at that point in time.
“And yeah, of course, I'd love to get a finish, you know? But I know the young buck is strong. But, either way, my hand’s getting raised.”
UFC 323: Dvalishvili vs Yan 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 6, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!