Henry Cejudo Claims Dismissal of Coach Eric Albarracin Was a Prank

Henry Cejudo claims to have pulled a fast one on the MMA community during the UFC “Countdown” show.

During one of the episodes, Cejudo is shown parting ways with longtime coach Eric Albarracin ahead of UFC 298.

“You were with me for my last Olympic trials, and you’ve been there for me, but as of right now, I just want to let you know that for this camp, dude, I’m getting rid of specific coaches – and that’s you included,” Cejudo said to Albarracin on the show.

What appeared to be a very public dismissal drew criticism from a few prominent figures in the sport, including Alexander Volkanovski, Ray Longo and Matt Brown. However, Cejudo recently reunited with Albarracin in a video post on Instagram, where both men claimed that the whole scene was an elaborate prank.

“Bill Belichick-Tom Brady, Phil Jackson-Michael Jordan. Come on, you think they would ever break up? Come on, man,” Albarracin said in the video.

While Brady did actually leave Belichick and the New England Patriots to win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the fighter and coach were nonetheless trying to make it clear that they were still a team.

“Just so you guys know, this is the greatest combat coach of all time,” Cejudo said. “This is an unbreakable bond.”

However, Albarracin’s last statement made it unclear as to whether he will be in Cejudo’s corner for his UFC 298 bout against Merab Dvalishvili. Albarracin is also working with Paulo Costa for his fight with Robert Whittaker.

“Let’s go, UFC 298, we’re taking over,” Albarracin said. “I’m going to be sitting, drinking Team Secret Juice, [in the] front row, watching Cejudo take out Merab Dvalishvili, and stamp another title shot, become C4 [win four UFC titles].”

The video ends with Cejudo walking away, while triumphantly saying “Got ‘em” to indicate that the prank was a success.

UFC 298 takes place on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The main card, which includes Cejudo vs. Dvalishvili, airs on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.