Henry Cejudo reveals Eric Albarracin will still corner him at UFC 298: “We started this together, we’ll finish it together”

By Cole Shelton - February 13, 2024

Henry Cejudo will have his longtime coach Eric Albarracin in his corner for his UFC 298 fight against Merab Dvalishvili after all.

Henry Cejudo

Cejudo revealed on UFC Countdown that he was parting ways with his longtime coach ahead of his do-or-die fight against Dvalishvili at UFC 298.

“You were with me from my last Olympic trials, you’ve been there for me,” Cejudo tells an emotional Albarracin. “But as of right now, I just want to let you know that for this camp, dude, I’m getting rid of specific coaches, man. That’s you included, dude… Sometimes you are too close to somebody and people just get too comfortable.”

The news seemed to catch Albarracin by surprise, but the coach still wished Cejudo the best in his UFC 298 fight.

“The goal has always been the same,” Albarracin said. “For you to be the greatest combat sports athlete of all time. And to me, that was a dream come true.”

Immediately, many fans and fighters took issue with how Henry Cejudo told his coach he was being fired while the UFC was filming. However, it appears that was all for the show, as Cejudo took to his Instagram on Tuesday to reveal that Eric Albarracin will be in his corner on Saturday night.

 

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A post shared by Henry Cejudo (@henry_cejudo)

“GOT’EM. JORDAN/ JACKSON. BRADY/ BELICHICK. CEJUDO/ ALBARRACIN We started this together, we’ll finish it together. THE KING OF CRINGE IS BACK,” Cejudo wrote.

With Albarracin back in Cejudo’s corner, the former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion will look to pull off the upset against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298. The fight is ultra important for Cejudo who has said if he loses to Dvalishvili he may retire from MMA again, as it would be his second straight loss and would eliminate him as a title contender at bantamweight.

Henry Cejudo (16-3) is coming off a split decision loss to Henry Cejudo in May for the bantamweight title in his return to the action. It was his first fight in three years after he retired following his TKO win over Dominick Cruz to defend his bantamweight title. In his career, Cejudo holds notable wins over TJ Dillashaw, Demetrious Johnson, Sergio Pettis, and Marlon Moraes.


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