Henry Cejudo is set to face a high-profile opponent in his debut appearance for Real American Freestyle (RAF).
Cejudo officially stepped away from mixed martial arts following his final appearance at UFC 323 in December, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to upcoming Payton Talbott.
The former two-division champion initially stepped away from 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 Octagon in May 2023, where he suffered a narrow split-decision loss to then-135-pound titleholder Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288.
Failing to secure a victory in his return, Henry Cejudo also suffered a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili, followed by a technical decision defeat against Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Seattle last February.
Nonetheless, the former Olympic gold medalist is poised to return to his wrestling roots under the RAF banner, making his comeback less than three months after his final UFC appearance.
Henry Cejudo To Wrestle Urijah Faber At RAF 6 On Feb. 28
On Friday, Real American Freestyle announced that Henry Cejudo is set to wrestle UFC Hall of Famer and former WEC champion Urijah Faber in the main event of RAF 6 on February 28 at the Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
During their respective tenures, both veterans openly expressed interest in facing one another, but the matchup never came together. Now, less than two months later, they will finally have the chance to settle the long-discussed clash on the mats.
Faber stepped away from MMA following a unanimous decision victory 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 concluded later that year in December, as 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 grappling circuit and most recently competed at ADXC 5 in August 2024, where he secured a unanimous decision victory over Bibiano Fernandes. Prior to that, Faber earned a submission win against Jeff Glover in May at his own promotion, Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat.
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