Dana White gives Henry Cejudo instant $50K bonus as former double champion retires at UFC 323

Henry Cejudo left it all in the octagon as he retired from MMA after a defeat at UFC 323.

Cejudo, the only man to win a UFC title and Olympic gold medal, showed heart and grit as he survived a beating from Payton Talbott on the Las Vegas card.

Getty

Getty

Getty

Both men traded heavy leather over the three-round fight, but Talbott landed the more damaging blows and was rightfully crowned the winner.

All three judges scored the contest 30-27 in Talbott’s favour, awarding the 27-year-old a unanimous decision win.

However, Cejudo, 38, can bow out of the sport with his head held high after a true champion’s performance.

Dana White gives Henry Cejudo instant $50K bonus

In fact, ‘Triple C’ will leave the T-Mobile Arena feeling even better, as he has already bagged a huge $50,000 bonus.

Straight after the final bell, Cejudo was on his knees inside the octagon with UFC CEO Dana White close by on the outside.

“You showed a ton of heart,” White said, before Cejudo hinted at getting a $50K Fight of the Night bonus.

White never usually gives out bonuses until an event’s post-fight press conference, but he was feeling generous in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

“F*** it, I’ll give you $50,000 anyway,” White responded to Cejudo’s request.

What happened in Cejudo vs Talbott at UFC 323?

Talbott cracked Cejudo early on and showed signs of his speed by damaging his opponent with swift combinations.

Cejudo caught the younger man with a few leg kicks, forcing him to change stances, but Talbott remained calm and composed to keep inflicting damage on the former champion.

Incredibly, Talbott was the first to take Cejudo to the canvas, and the American couldn’t believe his luck when he had the Olympic gold medallist in freestyle wrestling on his back, celebrating as if he’d won the fight.

In round two, however, Talbott became Cejudo’s 13th opponent to be floored.

But Talbott quickly got back on track, leaving Cejudo’s right eye unrecognisable as he scored a knockdown and continued to bust his opponent up.

Talbott was in his groove by the final round, but Cejudo bit down on his gum shield and continued to fight on.

Towards the final stages of the fight, Talbott caught Cejudo with brutal body shots, and the 38-year-old was certainly feeling them.

Both men met in the octagon for the final 10 seconds, channelling their inner Max Holloway vs Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, as the Las Vegas crowd showed their appreciation upon the final claxon.

Getty

Getty - Contributor

Cejudo then spoke with UFC commentator Joe Rogan.

“Payton is the future… This put a good stop on the end,” Cejudo said before the UFC played a montage in respect of his illustrious career.

Cejudo became a UFC champion for the first time when he ended the nearly six-year reign of flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, claiming a split decision win over the MMA legend in August 2018.

He defended the 125lbs belt by stopping TJ Dillashaw in 32 seconds five months later, before he made history at UFC 238.

‘Triple C’ finished Marlon Moraes in June 2019 to claim the UFC bantamweight title, on top of his flyweight strap.

He remains just one of four fighters, including Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes and Daniel Cormier, to have held two UFC titles simultaneously.

Cejudo had already said before UFC 323 that his fight with Talbott would be his last.

He previously announced his retirement after defending the bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz in May 2020.

However, ‘Triple C’ came back, contesting four more fights against Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, Song Yadong, and now Talbott, all of which ended in defeats.

Cejudo didn’t want to retire after his last fight with Yadong, as he was hindered by a brutal eye-poke in the unanimous decision defeat.