Henry Cejudo’s dream Olympic anniversary derailed by injury

The former dual-weight champion was due to face Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera on 19 August – the 15th anniversary of his Olympic gold-medal win

Henry Cejudo’s dream of fighting on the anniversary of his Olympic gold-medal win has been derailed by injury, the ex-UFC champion has said.

Cejudo was due to face Marlon “Chito Vera” at a UFC Fight Night on 19 August – the 15th anniversary of his wrestling triumph for the United States at the Beijing Games.

However, a shoulder injury will prevent Cejudo, 36, from competing this summer, denying him the chance to bounce back from a recent loss.

Cejudo, one of just four dual-weight champions in UFC history, retired from mixed martial arts in 2020 but returned in May, losing to bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling on points.

“Unfortunately due to my right shoulder, I won’t be able to fight,” Cejudo said on Instagram on Thursday (29 June). “I’ve already torn my left shoulder, where I was out for about a year. I don’t want it to tear further than what it already is.

“The cat’s out the bag. It’s actually a 50 per cent tear. I stretched it out to as much as I possibly could, because I love that Chito Vera match-up, but between my shoulder and my baby expected on 25 October, it’s the best decision for me and my family to not fight in August.

“Nothing changes with my future goals. I want my title back. When I’m back to 100 per cent, you’ll see me in the Octagon again. But until then, I need to heal. I hope the UFC can find a replacement to fight Chito, so he could stay on the card. I would’ve loved to fight him in Boston on the 15-year anniversary of my gold medal. But I’ll be back.”

UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Vera (Getty Images)

Cejudo won the UFC flyweight title in 2018 and claimed the bantamweight belt in 2019. He retained each title once and vacated both prior to retiring in 2020.

In May, he returned to MMA and attempted to reclaim the bantamweight title by challenging Sterling, who beat Cejudo via split decision.

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