Chris Weidman. Bruno Silva. A controversial eye poke. Sound familiar? Last year, Weidman and Silva found themselves in a similar mess, and now, Henry Cejudo is the latest victim of an unintentional but fight altering foul. As the third round of his bout with Song Yadong unfolded, Cejudo took not one, but two fingers straight to the eye. An unfortunate moment that flipped the momentum and ultimately ended the fight. And now? Former champ-champ is left with double vision and a double shot of frustration.

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, dude,” Cejudo said on Instagram, still reeling from the aftermath. “But by the time the five minutes were up, I was seeing double.” Diagnosed with diplopia, a condition where tissues damage in the eye causes retinal scratched, leading to double vision, Cejudo’s night at UFC Seattle ended in technical decision loss. But beyond the injury, his bigger fight might be convincing Dana White that a rematch is necessary. “Dana, I know you said you’re not interested in a rematch, dude, let’s run it back.”

UFC boss, however, didn’t mince words. “Not at all. Not even a little bit,” White responded when asked about giving Cejudo another shot at Yadong. “I just don’t want to see it again.” That’s a harder hit than any landed in the fight itself. With Cejudo now sitting at 0-3 since his return, it seems the UFC brass has lost faith in his title aspirations. So what exactly will it take for Cejudo’s request to be taken seriously?

Will Henry Cejudo words fall on UFC’s deaf ears?

Cejudo’s loss wasn’t just about the eye poke. Yadong had been finding his groove, stuffing takedown attempts and landing clean shots before the fight’s abrupt end. Still, Triple C believes there was more fight left in him. “Song was hurt, I was hurt, look at our faces. We should run it back.” But with the head honcho shutting that door, where does he go from here?

Funny how we love to harp on the negatives but barely notice the wins. Case in point, UFC 309’s glove switch. The UFC quietly ditched the much hyped ‘new and improved’ gloves, slinking back to the old ones fighters actually liked. The supposed innovation, meant to prevent eye pokes and hand injuries, ended up tanking knockout rates to 22.9% and bumping up decision finishes by 11.5%. “There were a lot of complaints,” UFC boss said. “They ddin’t work out. People weren’t happy with them.” But who exactly are “people”, the fighters, or the business? We may never know.

One fighter, however, did make himself heard. And when he talks, Dana listens. The UFC 309 headlines had made Jon Jones feeling about the gloves clear ahead of his title defense, and surprise, surprise, change happened. Maybe Cejudo should take notes and get Jones to co-sign his rematch request, because if anyone can get Dana to change his mind, it’s Bones. So, does Cejudo stand a chance at bending Dana’s ear for a rematch, or is he screaming into the void?

The only thing certain? He’s got 30 days to recover. After that, his biggest battle might not be inside the Octagon, it’s convincing the UFC he still belongs there. What do you think? Should the former champ champ get another swing at Yadong, or is this the end of his road? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!