Henry Cejudo is a jolly, happy-go-lucky guy kind of guy. But that shouldn’t take away from the fact that he also is one of the greatest martial artists to ever grace the octagon. Not only was he a two-division concurrent champion in the UFC, but he was also an Olympic gold medallist in wrestling.

And not just any Olympic gold medallist in wrestling, but the youngest American to ever do so! But these achievements tend to get lost. Especially because of ‘Triple C’s most memorable character- ‘The King of Cringe’. While fighters playing characters for popularity is not uncommon in the fight game, it seems Cejudo did so for much ‘nobler’ purposes than personal enrichment.

On his ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast with Kamaru Usman, ‘Triple C’ revealed that almost the entire reason he decided to create the cringy character and play it up was to try and save the flyweight division.

“I almost feel like I kind of fell into the character ’cause in real life I am a cornball. I’m a very happy dude, I’m a very carefree human but at the same time I started like kind of like the ‘King of Cringe’ [character], it was [because] the flyweight division was on the chopping block. I was literally with Dana White… right after I beat Demetrius Johnson… he’s [Dana White’s] like ‘Hey man I just want to let you know that I’m going to give you an opportunity to go up to 135 pounds but… the division is going to be gone.’ That just didn’t sit well with me at that time,” Cejudo said.

After this, Cejudo decided to construct a persona that would create headlines and make sure that people were invested in the flyweight division. “And I said ‘You know, I have to do something to put it in my hands to be able to save this division.’ So we go back and in that fight with TJ Dillashaw… So we’re at the press conference I finally pull out the snake and then boom! And then I smash it on the ground, that s**t went viral. And then people were just like ‘Cringe. That dude’s cringe, that’s the King of Cringe’… Two fights later Henry Cejudo saved 55 jobs,” he boasted.

However, when the flyweight juggernaut announced his sudden retirement back in 2020, everyone in the MMA community was left bamboozled. And now that the ‘King of Cringe’ is back in action, he has run into some rough waters.

Henry Cejudo’s sharp decline since coming back from retirement seems worse than it actually is

Henry Cejudo, after becoming a two-division champ back in 2020, decided to hang up his gloves while staying on top and ‘retired’ from the sport. And while many scoffed after his eventual return three years later, it is important to remember that Cejudo had been competing at the highest level in martial arts since he was a teenager.

And the three-year gap gave him some well-needed time off to spend time with his family and just have a life. But since coming back, he is 0-2, losing a tough split decision to Aljamain Sterling last year and a unanimous decision to current bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili earlier this year.

But ‘Triple C’ still has what it takes. After all, not only did he go three rounds with the current champ at UFC 298, but also reportedly went into the fight with an injury. Not to mention he knocked down Dvalishvili in the first round of their clash. And now there is one opponent that could catapult Cejudo back to the top and that is the former division king, Sean O’Malley.

‘Suga’ of course, lost his title to Dvalishvili at UFC 306 and is currently looking for a bounce-back fight, and who better than a former two-division champion? Especially since ‘Triple C’ is already on board. What are your thoughts on Henry Cejudo’s claims about saving the flyweight division? Will we see him in action soon? Drop your views in the comment section below!