Henry Cejudo’s suspicious praise for Nigerian former-UFC champion

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In line with the praises former-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya received before his fight with Sean Strickland was that of Henry Cejudo. Speaking of the Nigerian superstar then, he shamelessly highlighted what he respected about him. This praise looks suspicious now, given Cejudo’s known dislike for Adesanya.

Cejudo is among the voices presently dissuading Adesanya from an immediate rematch, after his loss in that match UFC 293. Here is what he said before the match.

‘The biggest weapons that he does have are his kicks. So whether you’re southpaw or right-handed, he’s going to find a way to break your foundation and actually reach those legs,’ Cejudo had said. ‘He does a really good job of – even if you are a southpaw, like he will go with that lead leg to eventually kick you.’

It is a possibility that Strickland put all of these mentions of Adesanya’s powers into consideration towards the match. Henry Cejudo has not been a friend of Adesanya’s before the match. Instead, he had even volunteered to tutor some of Adesanya’s former opponents on how to overcome the former champion.

Henry Cejudo once volunteered to train Adesanya’s past opponents

This is why this praise of his just before the match would look suspicious in the wake of the astounding loss that followed. One of the journalists that observed this praise then said it was a rare one. One could say the sweet words might have been fashioned to get the former champion to retain a known style, which Daniel Cormier pointed out that Strickland was expecting.

According to Cormier, Sean Strickland did not give the former champion chance to use any of his trademark moves. Strickland only had to be too near Adesanya to afford him chances to throw left hooks, or to use those long-range kicks he floored Alex Pereira with. Looking back at this praise now after the match, it almost sounds comic. In fact, it looks like a bare trap.

“A lot of people, when the lights are actually bright, they don’t actually show up,’ Cejudo had continued. ‘I will tell you somebody who will always show up: It’s this man (Adesanya) right here. He comes to fight, and he comes to win.

‘All that is because of all those five-round fights that he’s had, and obviously taking losses and coming back and actually winning. That’s what makes Israel special.’

By all considerations then, it all sounded respectful.

“There is one thing that Israel does have now,’ Henry Cejudo had said. ‘And it’s championship experience. What I would put at No. 1 is just world championship experience. When you get accustomed to training for five rounds, when you get accustomed to the lights, the cameras, everything that comes with you being the absolute best in the world.’

It is possible Adesanya has second thoughts about using his trademark style against Strickland now, and wants to try something else. But as he was not expecting what Strickland did, he might not be expecting what he would do this time.