Dana White thinks it was 'ridiculous' that Henry Cejudo retired: 'He was in his f*cking prime'

Dana White criticizes Henry Cejudo’s past decision to retire.

Cejudo opted to hang up his gloves after retaining his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz in May 2020. He walked away after amassing a six-fight winning streak, which included title wins over Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw, and Cruz.

Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) returned after a three-year long layoff to challenge Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 288, but fell short in a split decision loss. White questions why Cejudo hung up his gloves in the first place.

“I mean, I think it was ridiculous that Henry Cejudo retired.” White told Kevin Iole. “When you retire, you should stay away and never come back. This guy retired when he was in his f*cking prim. He looked good. This is a big fight for both of these guys.”

Cejudo meets Merab Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in a pivotal bantamweight clash Saturday at UFC 298 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) from Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

If he can’t get past Dvalishvili, Cejudo said he definitely plans on retiring again. Dvalishvili on the other hand, was primed for a title shot after dominating former champion Petr Yan, but refused to fight his friend Sterling for the title.

Now that Sterling lost his title to Sean O’Malley and has moved up to featherweight, the path is clearer for Dvalishvili. White was openly critical of Dvalishvili’s decision to not fight Sterling.

“Merab sat out, and didn’t take a title fight because his friend had the title – all that stuff,” White said. “So I think you’re looking at two guys that, in my opinion, have made some mistakes in their careers. Saturday night’s a big deal for both of these guys. This whole f*cking card is incredible. I love this card.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.