Henry Cejudo wanted to go out on his shield for the final fight of his career at UFC 323, and he can definitely consider that mission accomplished.
The former two-division UFC champion engaged in a three-round war with Payton Talbott while absorbing 156 strikes across three rounds. By the time the final horn sounded, Cejudo sported a nasty cut under his eye and significant swelling from the damage done, but he certainly provided a show.
Following the event, UFC CEO Dana White posted a photo showing off Cejudo’s bruised and bloodied face as he received medical treatment backstage.
“Bad ass fight!” White captioned the photo showing off Cejudo’s injuries.
While obviously not the result he wanted, Cejudo returned for one more fight after his previous outing against Song Yadong ended in disappointing fashion due to some nasty eye pokes that left him unable to continue. Cejudo ultimately lost a technical decision that night and decided he didn’t want his career to end on that note.
On Saturday night, Cejudo engaged in an absolute war with Talbott, but came up short on the scorecards. He paid tribute to his opponent after the fight.
“Payton’s the future,” Cejudo said following his final fight. “I want to keep mentoring him. This put a good stamp on the end.”
Cejudo retires as a former two-division UFC champion, who defended both the bantamweight and flyweight titles, and that all happened after he claimed an Olympic gold medal in wrestling back in 2008.