UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling gave a less-than-supportive message to Henry Cejudo after withdrawing from UFC 292.
Cejudo was supposed to face Marlon Vera in a three-round matchup at UFC 292 on August 19th. But, he revealed on Thursday that he suffered a shoulder injury that will require extensive rehab, putting his UFC 292 booking off the table.
Cejudo would’ve made his second Octagon appearance since a three-year retirement. He returned in the UFC 288 main event to face Sterling for the bantamweight belt, losing via split decision.
Tensions between Sterling and Cejudo hit a high leading up to their fight, although things appeared cordial in the days after. Things between them became strained again amidst Sterling’s previous comments about a quick turnaround to face Sean O’Malley at UFC 292.
Aljamain Sterling Mocks Henry Cejudo After Injury News
During a recent episode of his The Weekly Scraps podcast, Sterling reacted to the news of his former foe’s injury.
“Henry Cejudo is out of this fight. ‘The savage!’ Remember that? The savage? Texting Dana [White] saying, ‘If that little p**** doesn’t want to fight, I’ll take the fight?’ Isn’t it funny how the roles are reversed now and this ‘little savage’ is no longer a savage? Very interesting,” Sterling said. “For me, I call that being a dirty little weasel. You try to disparage my name in front of the fans and make it seem like I don’t want to fight, whatever, ‘the fight wasn’t that bad of a fight so you should be able to turn around.’ Guys, I’m telling you from experience, from a championship experience, defending multiple times… it’s very, very different getting ready for 25 minutes versus 15 minutes…
“Henry wanted to be this big, bad tough guy and lie to the fans and make it seem like he was in it to win it, yay! But now look. Instead you look like an ass clown trying to pretend you’re something that you’re not. You’re human, bro. I’m human. I at least disclosed up front because I didn’t want to rob the fans of their hard-earned money, because I wanted to check out my injuries, and I fought you with my injuries prior to coming into the octagon! So who is really the savage? Who is really built like that? Because clearly, my man, it ain’t you. Respectfully.”
Before his retirement at UFC 249, Cejudo held the bantamweight and flyweight titles simultaneously. He beat Marlon Moraes for the then-vacant bantamweight belt at UFC 238.
It’s uncertain how long Cejudo will be sidelined with his shoulder injury, and he could miss the rest of 2023. As he recovers, Sterling isn’t holding back in basking in the setback of his former rival.
All quotes from MMA Fighting
