Henry Cejudo Believes His Body Could Fight At A High Level For Another 10 Years
Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo believes he has plenty of time left to achieve his rejuvenated goals in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Cejudo, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, originally hung up his gloves in 2020 following a successful defense of the bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz.
Three years later, however, “Triple C” is back in the mix.
The former 125 and 135-pound titleholder returned to the Octagon last month at UFC 288, where he made an unsuccessful bid to dethrone Aljamain Sterling in the pay-per-view’s main event.
While it appeared that a quick return to retirement was on the cards, Cejudo has since recommitted himself to pursuit of further glory in the cage. That journey will begin at UFC 292 on August 19, when he collides with Marlon Vera.
And although Cejudo’s long-term status remains somewhat uncertain given his flirts with a return to the sidelines after the defeat against Sterling, he’s insisted that any decision to hang up the gloves again will be entirely down to mental factors.
Cejudo: Retirement Decision Will Come Down To The Mind, Not Body
During an interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto earlier this month, Cejudo assessed his motivations and hope to achieve further greatness on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.
“Triple C” insisted that his body is capable of a long-term comeback, with the 36-year-old even suggesting that he’s healthy enough to compete for another decade.
“My body’s good, Brett. With my mind, it’s just like, fed up. I could retire tomorrow. I could never fight again and be okay,” Cejudo said. “It’s all about the mind. My body could go for the next 10 years, honestly. I’ve taken care of my body. I stretch every day.
“Yeah, I get fat and I get big, but I’ve never had any injuries. My knees have always been good. Aside from ripping my shoulder in the Marlon Moraes fight… other than that, I got a good 10 years if I want to,” Cejudo continued. “Do I want to do 10 years? I don’t think so. But I’m here to have it all or I don’t wanna be part of it.”
Cejudo will look to prove as much by adding to the woes of Vera come fight night in Boston later this summer. “Chito” recently had his title ambitions stalled by Cory Sandhagen at UFC San Antonio.
ALL THE SMOKE 😮💨😮💨😮💨 @HenryCejudo and @ChitoVeraUFC will step into the Octagon on August 19th at #UFC292!
Tickets: https://t.co/mpJ6ZUPws2 | @TDGarden pic.twitter.com/lYz3QvrVap
— UFC (@ufc) June 23, 2023
Read Also: Henry Cejudo Doesn’t Feel The Need To Get Aljamain Sterling Loss Back: ‘It’s Not The End Of The World’
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