PHOTO | Henry Cejudo appears to have suffered a nasty cut ahead of UFC 249

UFC Bantamweight Champion Henry Cejudo appears to have suffered a nasty cut prior to UFC 249 this weekend.

While Cejudo’s “cringeworthy” persona may have been at the forefront of the conversation over the last year or so in regards to his career, the focus has now shifted to his potentially career-defining showdown with Dominick Cruz this Saturday night. Cruz, the former king of the division, will challenge for the UFC Bantamweight Championship in the co-main event of UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida.

From the looks of it, Cejudo sustained a cut somewhere in the lead-up to the bout.

Henry Cejudo appears to have been cut at some point ahead of #UFC249. pic.twitter.com/kpcxUykUTM

— Drake Riggs (@DrakeRiggs_) May 4, 2020

As you can see in this shot that was spotted by Drake Riggs from the UFC 249 Countdown show, Cejudo look to have a nasty cut above his right eye. While it clearly won’t be enough to cancel the bout this weekend, and might well be completely healed by this point, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on — pun not intended.

One man who is bound to have picked up on that is Cruz, who would complete the most remarkable comeback story if he was somehow capable of dethroning Cejudo. 

The two men have traded shots back and forth but it doesn’t really feel like there’s any clear animosity between the pair, although we’ll probably find out more about that when they lock horns on the UFC 249 media conference call later today.

This generational fight will give us a pretty clear insight into what the future of the division is going to look like. Cruz is easily capable of steadying the ship and holding the gold for a few more years if he picks up the win, but in equal measure, Cejudo has already proven himself to be a dangerous individual with triumphs over TJ Dillashaw and Marlon Moraes.

Whether he’s cut or not, you can bet that Henry Cejudo is going to bring the thunder on Saturday night — and it’ll be interesting to see how Cruz is able to weather the storm.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/4/2020.