Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw believes Henry Cejudo’s early retirement to be nothing more than a cowardly exit.
Henry Cejudo’s amazing run that led to his retirement began with two upset victories over Demetrious Johnson to capture the flyweight championship and then over T.J. Dillashaw to retain the title. Cejudo would then go up a weight class and capture the belt that Dillashaw was just stripped of (UFC bantamweight championship) with a victory over Marlon Moraes. And for his final performance, Cejudo defeated the consensus greatest bantamweight of all time, Dominick Cruz. The whole way, Cejudo was cashing in on the cringe and building a name for himself.
T.J. Dillashaw is among the rest of us who were surprised by Cejudo’s decision, but he took away something else from it that most others likely did not.
“It was very surprising, especially to come and build this name that he’s built, and finally be able to reap the rewards of it, and then he’s like, ‘Ah, I’m out!’” Dillashaw told ESPN recently. “But to be honest, I think he knows that he’s not the best, and the way his career’s worked out is very great for him. I mean, he had a little storybook ending for himself.
“And he did the same thing with wrestling. He kind of went out there, won a tournament…won a gold medal…I give him more credit for that than anything else he’s done….won a gold medal, but to be honest, going into that (wrestling) tournament, he shouldn’t have won it. I don’t think he was the best wrestler. But he did, and then he’s able to retire and be the gold medalist. And now, he’s doing the same thing with fighting.”
T.J. Dillashaw is aware that Cejudo’s storybook ending couldn’t have been written if Dillashaw played spoiler and defeated Cejudo two years ago, but this loss hasn’t changed perception of Cejudo as a second best fighter who’s lack of self-confidence prompted him to quit while he’s ahead.
“I went out there and lost a fight to him at flyweight, which cemented him up there,” Dillashaw said. “And then for him to go up and get the belt and be a double champ, for him to bounce out, I think he’s just leaving on top and knowing that he doesn’t want (the challenges) because he’s not the best.
“For him to quit where he’s at, that’s pretty mentally fuckin’ weak,” Dillashaw continued. “I mean, you’re at the top. You’re cashing the checks. You’re ready to continue to build your name. And then he’s out? It just doesn’t make sense to me. It’s either he’s mentally weak or he’s trying to get that bigger payday, and that’d be perfect for when I get back.”
T.J. Dillashaw has already made it known whom he wants to face when he returns, and that’s the winner of Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling. If Dillashaw does reclaim the belt, it’s doubtful that this fight would allure Cejudo out of retirement, as “Triple C” has already voiced his severe reservations about fighting T.J. Dillashaw again after Dillashaw’s failed USADA drug test for EPO.
What do you think of T.J. Dillashaw’s theory on why Henry Cejudo retired early?
This article first appeared on MMANews.com on 12/4/2020
