Henry Cejudo refers to himself as Triple C – the nickname stands for the 3 championships he conquered Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling, UFC flyweight championship and bantamweight championship. But in spite of all that Cejudo really struggled to get paid.
Cejudo retired back in May of 2020 after a TKO victory over Dominick Cruz. This was the 6th fight in a row Cejudo had won. UFC was displeased to have an active champion retire but at the same time Cejudo was not really making good money. And it was no secret he was struggling to market himself.
Cejudo shares a manager with Khabib Nurmagomedov in infamous Ali Abdelaziz however Abdelaziz seems to mostly be handy when it comes to facilitating fights as opposed to getting his clients paid.
Cejudo recently ent on the Scho show and revealed:
“When I told Khabib how much I’m getting paid, how much I’m asking for, he was so dumbfounded. He’s like, ‘Really?’ He was like, ‘Really?’ He’s like, ‘Man, that’s not right. I understand you.’ It’s just that people are on different contracts, man. You know, Khabib’s making $10 million a fight, and we’re nowhere near that.”
Cejudo recently revealed that UFC was considering letting him come back – fight Volkanovski when Holloway was revealed to be injured. He told MMAJunkie Radio:
“Dana would love to see the fight, but he wants to pay me peanuts in comparison to what I really deserve. I respect the man because it’s his business, what he’s able to do to take this company to a two-billion-dollar company to what it’s worth now seven (to) nine billion and I can’t get a raise. That just seems a little off to me, man.”
“… If Conor McGregor is making money and getting paid, and Jorge Masvidal. They’re doing what they’re doing and they’re getting paid more than me and I got two belts and I’m doing the exact same s*it and I’m not getting compensated, then you know what? F*ck you, too.”
https://youtu.be/85sbF54jCV4
Cejudo’s MMA career is 18 fights long – 16 wins and 2 losses. He’s estimated to have made around $2 million for the duration. He’s been in the UFC as far back as 2016. His last 3 fights were estimated to have made:
Cejudo vs Dillashaw – $440,000 ($350,000 to show, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $40,000 fight week incentive pay)
Cejudo vs Moraes $440,000 ($350,000 to show, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $40,000 fight week incentive pay)
Cejudo vs Cruz $390,000 ($350,000 to show, $40,000 fight week incentive pay)
Cejudo was eligible for 2 PPV buys bonuses, one for 2018 championship bout against Demetrious Johnson and one for his final bout against Dominick Cruz. These bonuses reportedly add up to around $1 million.