Henry Cejudo hungry for victory during exciting farewell on December 6

Henry Cejudo has struggled mightily since returning from retirement

In the not-so-distant past, Henry Cejudo was considered perhaps the best pound-for-pound UFC fighter in the world, conquering both the flyweight and bantamweight divisions in nearly a year. Than, After defending his 135-pound belt in 2020, he strangely decided to retire from competition to focus more on starting a family, seemingly content to hang up the gloves after all he had accomplished.

That time away from the cage lasted more than three years until Henry Cejudo decided to make a surprise comeback at UFC 288, where he immediately got a title shot against then-incumbent Aljamain Sterling. Despite the match being about to end, it was the New Yorker who raised his hand to end “Triple C’s” six-match winning streak.

From here, the Olympic gold medalist would face even more adversity, with Henry Cejudo losing his next two titles in a row to both future bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili and division standout Song Yadong. At the age of 38, the protégé of Eric Albarracin will now enter the legendary Octagon for the last time on December 6 at UFC 323, where he will fight the promising Payton Talbott.
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Talbott, a rising young name in the bantamweight division, awaits Henry Cejudo at UFC 323 on Saturday

While Talbott doesn’t have a legendary pedigree like his rising foe, Cejudo, he has what it takes to be a bona fide contender. Entering his professional tenure in 2021, the Nevada native won his first nine matches with near ease, eight of which ended by stoppage. Entering 2025 with a perfect promotional record of 3-0, Talbott suffered his first setback when he lost a dominant unanimous decision to Raoni Barcelos at UFC 311.

Although the steam was taken off his hype train considerably, the 27-year-old quickly bounced back six months later with a blowout win over the highly touted Felipe Lima at UFC 317. The win was notable because not only was it his return to form, it was also the first time Lima had lost a fight in nearly a decade. As he prepares to take on his first opponent, Talbott could establish himself as one of the premier bantamweights on the roster should he succeed in toppling the legendary Henry Cejudo.