It appears former two-division champion Henry Cejudo isn`t finished with mixed martial arts, as he has scheduled a surprising return to the octagon by year-end.
Currently on the first three-fight losing streak of his career, the former dual-weight titleholder, Henry Cejudo, has been out of action since his contentious defeat to Song Yadong earlier this year. This recent setback followed a title eliminator loss to the reigning bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili, and an earlier defeat to former titleholder Aljamain Sterling in his comeback fight.
For his return to the bantamweight division, Cejudo is slated to face a Contender Series alumnus, marking his first fight against a lower-ranked opponent in several years.
Henry Cejudo to Clash with Payton Talbott at UFC 323
Scheduled for the undercard of UFC 323, the year`s concluding pay-per-view event, Olympic gold medalist Cejudo will take on the rising prospect Payton Talbott.
After recovering from his initial career loss in an upset against veteran contender Raoni Barcelos at UFC 311 earlier this year, Talbott secured a decision victory over a resilient Felipe Lima this summer.
Despite Talbott currently being unranked, Cejudo will risk his #10 bantamweight ranking in this unexpected December comeback.
In addition to Dvalishvili`s anticipated title rematch against Petr Yan, the flyweight championship will also be contested on the year-end UFC 323 card. Brazilian superstar Alexandre Pantoja is set to return in a co-main event bout, facing the surging Joshua Van, who is fresh off his `Fight of the Year` contender against Brandon Royval.
Henry Cejudo`s Close Call with a Second Retirement
After initially retiring five years ago following his decisive victory over former champion Dominick Cruz, Cejudo made his comeback to face Aljamain Sterling.
Nevertheless, following a severe eye-poke incident against Yadong earlier this year, the Arizona native disclosed that he had briefly contemplated retiring once more due to the extent of the injury.