‘Father time comes for us all,' Henry Cejudo told to retire by greatest UFC rival

Demetrious Johnson says former UFC foe Henry Cejudo should retire off of three-straight losses.

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Demetrious Johnson wants Henry Cejudo to follow him into retirement.

At 38 years old, Cejudo still had his sights on becoming a two-time champion in the UFC - that is, until a double eyepoke at UFC Seattle. Song Yadong caused the foul in Round 3 of their bantamwweight main event, referee Jason Herzog giving Cejudo 5 minutes to recover as a result.

The UFC Seattle main event between Song Yadong and Henry Cejudo came to an anticlimactic end. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

However, upon making it to end of Round 3, Cejudo maintained he could not see, and the fight would not continue. It was left in the hands of the judges, who awarded a technical decision victory for Song. This marks Cejudo's third-straight loss since coming out of retirement in 2023.

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Two of those losses were to then-champion Aljamain Sterling and current titleholder Merab Dvalishvili, but Demetrious Johnson, the former UFC and ONE champion very much retired, believes Cejudo should call it quits on a legendary career.

"Father time comes for us all," Johnson said on his YouTube channel. "The likelihood of Cejudo getting an opportunity to keep on fighting #1 contenders over and over and over again - I just don't see it happening."

"Would I like to see Cejudo retire? Yeah, I think so. I mean, he's beaten me. Flyweight champion, defended the flyweight belt. Bantamweight champion, defending the bantamweight belt. That's more than half the m************ on the roster are ever gonna do."

Henry Cejudo and Demetrious Johnson fought twice in the UFC. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

"And yes, I know it's such good money. It's 8 weeks, go out there, fight, but man almost went blind," Johnson added.

Diplopia, Soft Tissue Damage, Corneal Abrasion.

“hE wANteD a wAy OuT” #UFCSeattle pic.twitter.com/SYG48fmb3M

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 23, 2025

Henry Cejudo is 1-1 with the retired Demetrious Johnson, losing to him by knockout at UFC 197 before avenging the loss two years later at UFC 227 in 2018.

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