Henry Cejudo Calls out Merab Dvalishvili for Rumored UFC Boston Event, Dvalishvili Accepts

The rumors of Henry Cejudo’s second retirement were apparently premature, according to the man himself.

This s*** is far from over! @danawhite I want @MerabDvalishvil head on a plate! #ufcboston pic.twitter.com/ME9ygzPaJG

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) May 8, 2023

Things didn’t go according to plan for former Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champ Cejudo (16-3, 10-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 288 headliner as “The Messenger” dropped a narrow split decision to bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling. In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Cejudo removed his gloves in the cage and teased that he might be done with MMA once again. A few hours later, however, Cejudo announced via Twitter that he wanted to don the four-ounce gloves at least once more, against Sterling’s teammate and good friend Merab Dvalishvili.

“This s—t is far from over,” Cejudo wrote. “Dana White, I want [Dvalishvili’s] head on a plate.”

Let’s Go! I will take another of @funkmasterMMA ‘s leftovers .. for now! https://t.co/I7jVSbcaxp

— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) May 8, 2023

It didn’t take long for Dvalishvili (16-4, 9-2 UFC) to answer the call. “The Machine” is currently riding a nine-bout winning streak and could fight for the championship any time, but has expressed his disinterest in facing Sterling as they are both Serra-Longo Fight Team standouts. However, Dvalishvili would be more than happy to clash with Cejudo.

“Let’s go! I will take another of Sterling‘s leftovers .. for now!” Dvalishvili replied.

Cejudo challenged Dvalishvili for UFC Boston, which is reportedly targeted to take place Aug. 19. The UFC hasn’t officially announced the card yet, but it should also feature a bantamweight clash between former divisional titleholder Cody Garbrandt and Mario Bautista.