Henry Cejudo flirted with retirement after a watch damage suffered in a loss to Track Yadong in February, however finally determined to return on Dec. 8, clashing with rising prospect Payton Talbott at UFC 323.
In keeping with his longtime buddy and coaching companion Bruno Silva, that can probably be Cejudo’s retirement bout.
“Bulldog” Silva stayed in Arizona for a camp with Cejudo and his crew for his upcoming match with Hyun Sung Park, which works down Saturday at UFC Vancouver, and sees Cejudo motivated for one final go contained in the octagon.
“It’s in all probability his final struggle,” Silva advised MMA Combating. “He is aware of it’s his final, so he’s giving his all in coaching. He’s very motivated. We encourage ourselves after we realize it’s the final one. ‘I gained’t have this no extra, so I want to provide my all,’ you recognize? To finish with a victory so everybody acknowledges him for who he’s. He’s very motivated. He’s doing nice.”
Cejudo retired from the game in 2020 after defensing his bantamweight title with a second-round knockout over Dominick Cruz. An Olympic gold medalist and former two-division UFC titleholder, Cejudo returned to the cage three years later, however has since dropped three in a row with defeats to Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili and Yadong.
Talbott gained 10 of 11 as knowledgeable, and the way in which he’s misplaced to Raoni Barcelos earlier this 12 months makes Silva assured that Cejudo has a transparent path to victory in Las Vegas.
“We all know his flaw is within the wrestling space, the grappling,” Silva stated of Talbott. “And that’s what Cejudo does greatest. He’s Olympic champion in wrestling. That’s the sport, that’s the trail, for positive.”
Silva focuses on his project for now, as he makes an attempt to rebound from back-to-back stoppage defeats to Joshua Van and Manel Kape. Park was unbeaten within the sport up till his latest match with Tatsuro Taira in August, when he surrendered to a face crank within the second spherical.
“The Korean is hard,” Silva stated. “He walks forwards and goes for the end, however he was submitted too [laughs]. There aren’t any simple fights within the UFC. It is advisable be good with the intention to be right here, however he’s nothing totally different from all those I’ve fought over time. It’s not like, ‘Oh, this man is one of the best.’”
“I’ve misplaced to 2 contenders,” he continued. “One among them [Van] will struggle for the belt now, and the opposite one [Kape] deserved to, however suffered an damage. I imagine certainly one of them can be champion of this division sooner or later, and that goes to indicate my degree within the sport. I had shut fights with each of them, however any error makes a distinction on this sport. One second, two inches, and all of it modifications.
“After all the pieces I’ve been by in my life, this rollercoaster, going up and down, it’s simply one other a part of my story. That is one other alternative to indicate my sport, to indicate I’m on the highest degree and need to be within the high 10. I’m going there to placed on a present. I’ll run by this Korean and return to the highest.”
