Henry was a great competitor in the UFC but when he thought he was going to somehow become one of the popular entertainers in the business overnight and walk away the champ and return for big money like Conor it was just never in the cards for him. UFC was happy to get out of the Mighty Mouse business so I’m not sure why Henry thought walking away while champ champ was gonna create a pot of gold waiting for him upon a return years later. At 33 years old when he walked away… all he was doing was costing himself the last really viable years he had a chance to defend those titles, earn some good paydays and further build his brand and legacy in the sport. If the UFC is willing to let a JDS go over he loses a couple big fights they surely are not going to go out of their way to overpay a Henry Cejudo.
As soon as Henry retired I had a strong feeling he would be back in the MMA media looking for that big payday and it just seemed like it was never gonna materialize for him. Most fighters are better off focusing on competing and taking the right fights at the right time instead of trying to figure out why they can’t become a Conor/Ronda/Diaz/Masvidal/Jones level star.
Henry only had twelve UFC fights and most of them were in the least popular men’s division in the history of the UFC. Huge miscalculation to walk away right after becoming double champ.
Henry is a great competitor but him wishing he was big entertainer does not make it so. His ratings were never huge. Henry’s latest complaints…
“He’s going to pay Jorge. He’s going to pay the 1 percent. He’s going to pay the entertainers, and that’s partially what I am. I’m an entertainer. I could sell a damn fight and I can fight better than all those dudes combined. It sucks, but that’s just the way it is. It’s just business. I ain’t mad. [I’m] maybe a little frustrated, but I ain’t mad. That’s just life.”
135 is super exciting, lots of eyes on that division right now
Im not sure if he walked away for the money, or cause hes been in combat sports forever and is burnt out. But either way, if Cejudo ever does fight again ill watch.
He decided to walk away while still in his prime and at his peak earning potential. Now he’s complaining he’s not offered a ton of money to fight the champion in a weight class he never fought at. MMA athletes are an odd bunch.
I assumed he walked away because he was burnt out. If he does fight again in the ufc I would be interested to watch…
It seemed odd to leave when he did. Max earning potential, age-wise. I do not like the whole “I’m going to fake retire and come back to a ton of $$” precedent being set here either.
I don’t think he was completely done competing like Khabib when he walked away. A few months after retiring he was already talking about coming back for the right money and the right fight.
It was little of both. Burnout and money. Pretty sure he said something like Dana knows my number if I were to come back. When you publicly call Dana White’s bluff it usually doesn’t work in your favor. He simply won’t fight under his old contract it seems.
Yeah, I remember him saying that now that you mention it. I cannot remember how many fights he had left on his contract… but I get wanting more $. I get needing a break too. It had to have been both because I think he also said he had other things he wanted to do (ie get engaged, spend more time with family, enjoying the $ he had).
Henry goes around calling himself the great combat sports athlete in history in the media.
Now Harrison is going around saying she is coming for that title of the greatest combat sports athlete in history.
I don’t think that is a title you can give yourself. Nobody is calling Henry anything close to the greatest freestyle wrestler at his weight or P4P. Not by a mile. He won some big fights but he also only had 12 UFC fights. A couple fights he had where he won were really close and a lot of people think he lost.
Now Harrison… her judo talent pool is a lot smaller than most of the talent pools in judo. The MMA talent pool at her weight does not exist yet.
I don’t like these two running around promoting themselves as the greatest combat sports athletes ever when nobody else is saying that about them. Its not a title you get to decide for yourself and nobody else is calling either one of them the greatest, not by a mile.
To me, records and titles don’t mean more than talent pools.
I consider a guy like Jeff Monson closer to “the greatest combat sports athlete of all time” than Kayla Harrison.
He won a Pac-10 Championship in folk, won or placed 2nd in freestyle and greco Northwest Senior Championships, Won or medaled at ADCC 5x, won or medaled at FILA/IBJJF championships 7x and had 87 pro MMA fights including fighting for UFC HW title and had fights with Chuck, Ricco, Griffin, Sylvia, Fujita, Rizzo, Barnett, Kerr, Nelson, Kharitonov, DC, Fedor etc…
Now I’m not calling Monson the greatest of all time but he is closer to that title than Harrison.
He abandoned his career at the peak of earning potential on the cusp of being a star and expected to take several years off then get paid what he MIGHT have been paid to come back.