Cejudo loses decision to Talbott in retirement fight
Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo came up short in the final fight of his career, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Payton Talbott at UFC 323 on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
All three judges scored the bantamweight bout 30-27 in Talbott's favor.
Cejudo, 38, finishes his career on the heels of four consecutive losses. Cejudo returned to MMA after a three-year retirement in 2023 but failed to record a victory, losing to Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, Song Yadong, and now Talbott.
Triple C is OUT! Henry Cejudo exits the cage for the final time after his #UFC323 retirement fight loss. pic.twitter.com/bmDDhvHabv
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) December 7, 2025
Talbott was a step ahead for the majority of the fight. The 27-year-old used his 6.5-inch reach advantage to batter Cejudo on the feet, outlanding him 134-60 in significant strikes. He dropped Cejudo in the second round, becoming the first to do so since Demetrious Johnson in 2016. However, Cejudo showed immense heart as he absorbed heavy punches and made it to the end of his final Octagon appearance.
Cejudo retires from the sport with a 16-6 professional record.
Meanwhile, Talbott improved to 5-1 in the UFC, emerging as a contender in the division.
One of four simultaneous two-division champions in UFC history, Cejudo held the flyweight title from 2018-20 and the bantamweight belt from 2019-20.
The final victory of his career was a second-round TKO of Dominick Cruz in a 135-pound title defense at UFC 249 in May 2020.