Sean O'Malley believes Henry Cejudo is done fighting.
Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) withdrew from his scheduled bout against Marlon Vera (22-8-1 MMA, 14-7 UFC) at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 because of a tear in his right shoulder. O’Malley (16-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) theorizes that the former UFC dual champion’s comeback didn’t go according to plan and explains why he doesn’t see him competing again.
“I think this, Henry is done for good. He is done, he is retired, he is not coming back,” O’Malley said on his “Timbo Sugar Show” podcast. “He tried to come back, and no one really cared. He got paid a little bit of money. A shoulder injury, so that must have been pretty bad that he couldn’t fight. Dude, and he’s already 36.”
Cejudo retired in May 2020 after retaining his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. He returned from an almost three-year layoff to challenge current champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 in May but fell short by split decision.
“Triple C” did not indicate he was done fighting and expects at least six to eight weeks of rehab as he looks to continue his quest of reclaiming the bantamweight title.
O’Malley, who originally picked Cejudo to beat Vera, headlines UFC 292 when he takes on Sterling for the 135-pound title.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.