Henry Cejudo is making some changes ahead of his comeback.
Henry Cejudo Makes Massive Coaching Change Ahead of UFC 298
The Olympic Gold Medalist and ex-UFC Champion’s next fight has title implications written all over it. Cejudo takes on fellow top contender Merab Dvalishvili this upcoming Saturday at UFC 298.
It’s either go big or go home for Cejudo as he has hinted at retirement with a loss in Anaheim. A win, however, puts Cejudo right back in the mix at 135lbs and ‘Triple C’ is doing whatever it takes to ensure that — even if means rearranging his team.
On ‘UFC Countdown’, it was revealed that Cejudo cut ties with longtime coach Eric Albarracin for this latest training camp. This change comes months after the UFC Bantamweight failed in his conquest to reclaim gold against then-champ Aljamain Sterling.
“Well, Cap, I just want to talk to you and like the whole team, man. When you’re with me for my last Olympic trials, you’ve been there for me, but as of right now, I just wanna let you know, man, that for this camp, dude, I’m getting rid of specific coaches, man. That’s you included dude,” Cejudo told Albarracin. “Sometimes you are too close to somebody and people just get too comfortable.”
Henry Cejudo removes Coach Eric Albarracin on the latest episode of UFC Countdown: pic.twitter.com/SCAT4iMRxJ
— Oscar Willis (@oscarswillis) February 11, 2024
Captain Albarracin, who helped Cejudo capture two UFC titles, understood his fighter’s difficult decision to part ways.
“The goal has always been the same for you to be the greatest combat athlete of all time. And to me, that was a dream come true,” Albarracin said to Cejudo.
“This is why this man is the GOAT coach,” Cejudo responded. “The most unselfish human that you will ever meet: Captain Eric Albarracin.”
It definitely wasn’t an easy decision for Henry Cejudo and it seems as though there’s no love lost between the longtime friends. We’ll see if the change pays dividend for him at UFC 298.
