Henry Cejudo will face a high-profile opponent in his debut for Real American Freestyle (RAF).
Cejudo officially retired from mixed martial arts after his last appearance at UFC 323 in December, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to upcoming Payton Talbott.
The former two-division champion initially retired from the competition after successfully defending his bantamweight title with a second-round TKO over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020. However, “The Messenger” later ended his three-year retirement and returned to the club. Octagon in May 2023, where he suffered a narrow split-decision loss to then-defending 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288.
Failing to secure a win in his return, Henry Cejudo also suffered a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili, followed by a technical decision defeat to Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Seattle last February.
Nevertheless, the former Olympic gold medalist is set to return to his wrestling roots under the RAF banner, making his comeback less than three months after his final. UFC appearance.
Henry Cejudo wrestles Urijah Faber at RAF 6 on February 28
On Friday, Real American Freestyle announced that Henry Cejudo will wrestle UFC Hall of Famer and former WEC champion Urijah Faber in the main event of RAF 6 on February 28 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
During their respective tenures, both veterans openly expressed interest in facing each other, but the match never materialized. Now, less than two months later, they finally get the chance to settle the long-discussed duel on the mats.
Faber retired from MMA after a unanimous decision win over Brad Pickett in December 2016. “The California Kid” later returned after a three-year hiatus and stunned fans with a stunning 0:46 knockout win against Ricky Simon at UFC Sacramento in July 2019.
His comeback ultimately ended later that year in December, when he announced his retirement following a third-round knockout loss to Petr Yan at UFC 245.
However, the 46-year-old veteran has remained active on the wrestling circuit, most recently competing at ADXC 5 in August 2024, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over Bibiano Fernandes. Faber earned one for that submission win against Jeff Glover in May at his own promotion, Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat.
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