Set to make the final appearance of his mixed marital career at the upcoming UFC 323 card, can former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo walk off into the sunset with one last victory?
Henry Cejudo Struggled Immensely Since Return From Retirement
In the not-so-distant past, Henry Cejudo was regarded as arguably the best pound-for-pound UFC fighters on the planet, conquering both the flyweight and bantamweight divisions in the span of nearly a year. Then, after defending his 135-lb strap in 2020, he oddly decided to retire from competition to focus more on starting a family, seemingly content to hang up the gloves after everything he had accomplished.
That time away from the cage wound up lasting over three years until Henry Cejudo decided to make a surprise comeback at UFC 288, where he was granted an immediate title shot against then incumbent Aljamain Sterling. Despite the contest coming down to the wire, it was the New Yorker who got his hand raised to end “Triple C”’s six-bout winning streak.
From here, the Olympic gold medalist would encounter even more adversity, with Henry Cejudo losing his next two tilts in a row to both future bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili and divisional standout Song Yadong. At 38 years of age, the Eric Albarracin protege now enters the fabled Octagon for the last time on December 6th at UFC 323, locking horns with hot prospect Payton Talbott.
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Talbott, Surging Young Name in Bantamweight Division, Awaits Henry Cejudo Saturday at UFC 323
Although lacking in a storied pedigree like his upcoming foe, Cejudo, Talbott has all the makings of a bonafide contender. Beginning his professional tenure in 2021, the Nevada native won his first nine contests almost with ease, including ending eight of them by stoppage. Entering 2025 with a perfect promotional record of 3-0, Talbott encountered his first real taste of adversity when he lost a dominant unanimous decision to Raoni Barcelos at UFC 311.
Though the steam was considerably taken out of his hype train, the 27-year old quickly bounced back with a superb triumph over the touted Felipe Lima at UFC 317 six months later. The victory stood out as not just his return to form, it was also the first time Lima had lost a fight in almost ten years. As he prepares to tackle his first ranked opposition, Talbott can establish himself as one of the preeminent bantamweights on the roster should he manage to topple the legendary Henry Cejudo.
