Henry Cejudo's Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut was postponed after the Olympic gold medalist was forced to pull out of his UFC 177 fight against Scott Jorgensen -- which was set to go down on Aug. 30, 2014 in Sacramento, California -- due to complications with his cut down to 125 pounds.
Despite the setback, UFC President Dana White gave Cejudo a second chance to make a first impression, but only if he agreed to come back as a bantamweight.
A proposition Henry gladly accepted.
Still, the fact the wrestling machine was having problems dropping the pounds only added to his reputation as a fighter who can't seem to do what it takes to hit his mark, seeing as how he missed weight twice prior to getting signed by UFC.
Not so, says Cejudo, who appeared on The MMA Hour to talk about the incident. In fact, he says he knows exactly how hard he has to work to shed the weight, as he once cut 14 pounds in one hour.
Wow.
But he's now come to the realization that he isn't as young as he used to be and his body doesn't react the same way anymore.
"Everything was good, I had gotten down to 130 the night before the weigh-ins, and I was only four pounds away from my goal. And that night I just had severe cramping. I couldn't sleep. Every 10 minutes or so I had cramping going on in my back, in my thigh, in my foot, just pretty much every part of my body. It's not that I'm fat or I'm overweight, I'm very lean. My body had pretty much just taken a toll. And it's happened a couple of times already. I've always thought I could get down to -- because I've done it my whole life -- get down to 125, but it's a little different now. I'm much older."
Dehydration, aching head, purple lips, and trouble keeping his balance were among the bevy of symptoms the Olympian felt during the vigorous cut.
That was enough to convince UFC officials that it was in his best interest to pull out of the bout. Something that wasn't so easy for him to digest, as he is willing to "go through death" for a lot of things. But when you realize that death might be knocking at your door, you quickly realize what's really important.
He explains:
"I'm very disappointed in myself. I'm still a little disappointed. I don't want to call it depression, but I am very sad. Because I want to compete. I'm a competitor, I love to compete. In the year 2013 I fought six times. I fought four times in two-and-a-half months. I love to compete, and I love to fight. It's just that I think my body has just grown and I think if I ever make 125, if the UFC would ever allow me, there would have to be more science involved into my weight cuts. It can't just be toughness and strong and willful minded, because that's just going to be put me in a coffin. And people who know me realize I come from a Mexican background. I'm an American, but I'm willing to go through death for a lot of things...but maybe not quite, maybe that's not true. That night just scared me a little bit. It was hard for me to get up, to be honest with you...I have to say it was a lot of cramping, and I couldn't wait until four o'clock. It was pretty much me or the sport of MMA. My coach just made the executive decision to take get an IV, and we went and we talked to the UFC, and they saw how I looked...and we just made a decision to pull out of the fight."
Cejudo, though, wasn't the only fighter at UFC 177 who was having trouble making weight.
Former bantamweight champion, Renan Barao, also had to pull out of his main event fight against current champ, T.J. Dillashaw, after he bumped his head on a bathroom wall due to a fainting spell; which was the result of the weight cut.
No word yet on when or where Cejudo will make his Octagon debut. The good news is, his next cut won't be too difficult, as he will have an extra 10 pounds to play with.
Henry also took the time to apologize to the fans, UFC, and Jorgensen for the blunder.
If he can manage to go out and win in impressive fashion and wow fans, and more importantly UFC officials, his recent mishap could perhaps become but a distant memory.
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