Ben Askren had some pointed words about Henry Cejudo‘s performance against Merab Dvalishvili at RAF, suggesting the former UFC double champion’s conditioning problems came down to a lack of preparation.
Speaking on The Mighty Cast with host Demetrious Johnson, Askren didn’t hold back when assessing why Cejudo ran out of gas late in their match, offering what he framed as his best guess at what went wrong.
“Here’s my guess,” Askren said. “Henry said, ‘I don’t need to train. I’m an Olympic champion. I’m going to go put him away.'”
Askren acknowledged that Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, came out sharp early. He built a commanding lead of 8 points, sitting just two away from a technical superiority finish. But the wheels came off in the third period.
“He was having a hard time staying on his feet in the third period,” Askren noted. “My man got really tired. He needs to have a good excuse for that because he got so tired.”
Askren said Cejudo’s plan made sense on paper. In freestyle wrestling, securing top position and turning your opponent racks up points quickly, and Cejudo has the credentials to do exactly that.
“I think he probably thought, ‘Hey, I’m going to get on top one time. Four turns, that’s eight points. Match is going to be over,'” Askren said. “And he did, in fact, almost put him away.”
But Dvalishvili’s relentless pace wore Cejudo down. The UFC bantamweight contender is well known for his engine, and that same quality transferred directly to the wrestling mat.
“Merab is a machine,” Johnson said during the conversation. “He does not stop.”
Askren also put Cejudo’s situation into context. While Cejudo is an Olympic champion, his last active wrestling competition before RAF was 14 years ago. That lengthy layoff, paired with what Askren believes was insufficient preparation, proved to be a costly combination against someone with Dvalishvili’s cardio.
“When you trained your whole life, it’s like… I don’t have to have abs anymore. I got a wife. I got kids. I’m good,” Johnson said, describing what retirement looks like for athletes of that caliber.
Askren then replied, “But you got to get a few sessions in.”
Cejudo competes in the RAF crossover division, designed for MMA stars and athletes whose competitive wrestling is well behind them, rather than active Olympic and collegiate competitors.
