Henry Cejudo says his July 11 loss to Merab Dvalishvili in Georgia stuck with him, but it also humbled him ahead of their rematch in the main event of RAF 12 on Saturday in Cleveland.
The Olympic gold medalist and former two-division UFC champion was beaten by decision the first time they met at RAF Georgia, and he has made clear that the experience left a mark. Cejudo said the atmosphere in Georgia felt familiar in a way he did not expect, comparing it to the pressure of wrestling in Iran.
Cejudo: 'It humbled the sh*t out of me'
Asked about the loss, Cejudo said: “Yeah, a little bit of everything.” He added: “Of course it stings. Of course it does. I think it's a little bit of everything, but at the same time, I think that I've been able to let it go, get over it, and just jump in there again. You know what I'm saying? Just do it again – and this time be more prepared better.”
That is the key point for the rematch. Cejudo is not pretending the defeat meant nothing. He said: “It sucks (losing), but I'll take it on the chin. I'll take it as a man. I did get tired, you could see it.”
He also admitted the setback had a personal effect, saying: “I was telling my wife earlier, it really humbled the sh*t out of me, man.”
Why the first meeting still matters
The first bout was not just a loss on the scorecards. Cejudo said the crowd in Georgia made the night feel overwhelming, describing it as similar to a high-pressure wrestling moment in Iran. “It felt similar in Georgia, bro. Because Merab started coming up, the stadium was legit shaking,” he said.
He also pointed to preparation, saying he had not trained as he should have for the first fight because of his honeymoon. That is why the rematch now feels like a different assignment altogether. The issue is no longer whether he can compete with Dvalishvili. It is whether he can do it properly prepared.
Cejudo said the defeat has already been processed, even if it still carries meaning. “Sometimes, and Kamaru (Usman) brought this up and apparently Dave Chappelle said it: sometimes you're living the dream and sometimes you become part of somebody's dream,” he said. “I just happened to become a part of a moment for Merab that he'll never forget in his life – and it f*cking sucks.”
Now the focus shifts to Rocket Arena in Cleveland, where Henry Cejudo and Merab Dvalishvili will run it back on Saturday. Cejudo has already said he wants to be better prepared this time, and that makes the rematch less about revenge and more about response. For a fighter of his standing, that is exactly where the interest lies.
