CHICAGO – During his first official UFC 238 fight week media appearance, Henry Cejudo was immediately confronted with a question about a report indicating a potential injury during a training session on Tuesday evening.
The report, per Eric Kowal of MyMMANews.com, was fueled when Cejudo didn’t do an open workout on Wednesday.
The first response Cejudo (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) offered differed from the second. The UFC flyweight champion initially denied there was anything wrong with him ahead of Saturday’s bantamweight title main event with Marlon Moraes (22-5-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC).
“No, no – absolutely not,” Cejudo said, when asked by MMA Junkie during a media scrum at The Chicago Theatre. “I’m good, I’m strong, I’m healthy. I don’t know where that came from.”
Cejudo followed his denial with a dance and mini workout that included shadowboxing and jumping jacks.
Moments later, though, Cejudo admitted there was some truth to the report. He said an accident did occur involving his right knee but continued to downplay the significance of it.
“I did have a little bump on my knee, my right knee,” Cejudo said. “I hit the edge of the damn corner. It hurt. That’s it.”
Cejudo weaved through talk about his health status and showed confidence about his matchup with Moraes, which takes place at United Center and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
The Olympic gold medalist and UFC titleholder has said in advance of UFC 238 that he’s taking aim for the sport’s top pound-for-pound spot. “Little bump” on his knee or not, he intends to get the win.
“By the way, I have a gold medal and a belt, and I’m going to add another belt,” Cejudo said as he left the podium. “Later, haters.”
For more on UFC 238, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
