Dana White rips ex-UFC champ for early retirement

UFC 298 looks all set to be an action-packed night of PPV action for the world’s largest MMA promotion. The main event features a top-tier featherweight fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria alongside a middleweight top contender’s bout with former champion Robert Whittaker taking on fan favorite Paulo Costa.

Further down the card, however, there’s another fight that deserves just as much interest and attention as the top-billed action for the night. A bantamweight scrap between top ranked Merab Dvalishvili and former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. Dvalishvili hopes to earn his first shot at gold and pick up his 10th straight victory, while Cejudo is looking to bounce back from a closely contested loss to then champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 last May.

UFC boss Dana White lays into Henry Cejudo for retiring ‘in his f***ing prime’

Fans might excuse Henry Cejudo for failing to recapture UFC gold by only the narrowest of margins last year, considering he had spent the previous three years sitting on the sidelines, but in a recent interview ahead of UFC 298 Dana White made it clear that he considers the time off something of a stain on ‘Triple C”s legacy. Most notably because White feels Cejudo had no reason not to be fighting.

“I mean, I think it was ridiculous that Henry Cejudo retired.” White explained (Transcript via MMA Junkie). “When you retire, you should stay away and never come back. This guy retired when he was in his f***ing prime. He looked good. This is a big fight for both of these guys.”

“Merab [Dvalishvili] sat out, and didn’t take a title fight because his friend had the title—all that stuff,” White added. “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***ing card is incredible. I love this card.”

Dana White spin control

In the case of Merab Dvalishvili, there are two sides to this story in clear opposition to one another. Back in March, Dvalishvili made it clear that he didn’t want anyone asking him about fighting Aljamain Sterling.

“If they want me to fight Aljo, maybe they have to pay $10 billion,” Dvalishvili said at the time. “Then yes, I’ll be ready.”

Shortly afterward, Dana White sort of claimed that the UFC had offered Dvalishvili a chance to fight Sterling for the belt and that he had turned it down.

“Oh, yeah.” White stated when asked if Dvalishvili had been offered the Sterling fight, “He could have that fight tomorrow.”

It’s a claim Dvalishvili has denied on several occasions now, saying that he has never been offered a fight against Sterling. From the sound of things, it doesn’t seem like he’s ever officially been offered a UFC title fight at all. But, considering that most bout negotiations are usually handled by matchmakers and managers, it’s impossible to know where the truth of that lies.

As for Henry Cejudo, however, his case for mid-career retirement has always been crystal clear.

“Show me the money,” Cejudo said in a 2020 interview. “That’s it. I’ve got my legacy. My legacy is written. Everybody knows what I’m after. I’m out here chasing green now. That’s what I want. I’ve got all the gold. I want the green.”

Whether or not Cejudo was able to finally really get paid big money by the UFC or not? We should know better this Saturday in Anaheim since California is one of the few states that still releases fighter contract information to the public. Even if he’s making serious ends now, however, the longtime Fight Ready talent has made it clear that it’s win or go home this time around. At 37-years-of-age he’s looking for one more run at gold. If he can’t get that, it sounds like he won’t stick around.

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Zane Simon

Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer, and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. He has worked with the website since 2013, taking on a wide variety of roles. A lifelong combat sports fan, Zane has trained off & on in both boxing and Muay Thai. He currently hosts the long-running MMA Vivisection podcast, which he took over from Nate Wilcox & Dallas Winston in 2015, as well as the 6th Round podcast, started in 2014. Zane is also responsible for developing and maintaining the ‘List of current UFC fighters’ on Bloody Elbow, a resource he originally developed for Wikipedia in 2010.

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