ANAHEIM — For what seemed like an eternity, Henry Cejudo’s career hung in the balance Saturday night at Honda Center.
After saying he would retire if he couldn’t beat bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 at Honda Center, the former Olympic gold medalist and UFC double champion spent several seconds up in the air. Literally.
In the third round, Dvalishvili scooped up the 37-year-old Cejudo, carried him across the Octagon and dumped him, an exclamation point on a unanimous-decision victory that appeared to end Cejudo’s career.
While Dvalishvili celebrated his victory that was scored 29-28 by all three judges with his in-ring postfight interview, Cejudo removed his gloves – typically a harbinger for hanging them up – and paced. The only problem was everyone was left hanging as the music played after Dvalishvili’s interview and Cejudo wasn’t offered an opportunity to address the crowd and his possible retirement.
Dvalishvili’s last three victories are over former champions Cejudo, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo. He has now won 10 in a row since April 2018, nine via decision, and called out 135-pound champion Sean O’Malley, who was in attendance and has a title fight with Marlon Vera next month.
The fight opened with Cejudo having more success, often faking to shoot but rising up to pop Dvalishvili. The second round was the opposite, Dvalishvili finding a home for his hands. At one point, Cejudo swung wildly and Dvalishvili ducked under it for a single-leg takedown. The round ended with Dvalishvili cranking Cejudo’s neck and hamming it up for the fans, most notably Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sitting cageside.
With the crowd clearly supporting him, Dvalishvili appeared the fresher fighter in the third, connecting with rights and pushing the pace. When the horn sounded to end the fight, their reactions were telling: Cejudo walked over to his corner and sank toward the fence, Dvalishvili ran to his corner and scaled the cage.
Whittaker…
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