Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo makes pro boxing debut against streamer Shabazz in September

Henry Cejudo, the Olympic gold medalist and former two-division UFC champion, will step into a boxing ring professionally for the first time when he faces streamer Nurideen “Deen the Great” Shabazz on 26 September in Miami under the Misfits Boxing banner.

The bout marks Cejudo’s entry into a third combat sport, having already claimed a wrestling gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics before going on to hold the UFC flyweight and bantamweight titles simultaneously. At 39, “Triple C” is now navigating a busy late-career schedule across multiple disciplines.

The boxing debut arrives just five weeks after a scheduled wrestling engagement. Cejudo is set to face Merab Dvalishvili in a rematch at Real American Freestyle 12 on 22 August in Cleveland — a return bout following his loss to the Georgian wrestler at RAF Georgia in July. He had previously defeated Urijah Faber at RAF 6 in February after retiring from MMA for a second time in December 2025, when he lost to Payton Talbott.

Shabazz is no stranger to the Misfits platform. The 25-year-old has been part of the promotion since 2022, competing largely in exhibition bouts. His most recent outing came at Misfits Mania in December, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Amado Vargas.

The tight turnaround between the Cleveland wrestling card and the Miami boxing event adds a notable layer of uncertainty to Cejudo’s preparation. As his camp acknowledged, arriving uninjured from the Dvalishvili rematch is a prerequisite for a full five-week camp ahead of the Shabazz fight.

Whether the crossover venture is a stepping stone to bigger boxing names or a one-off spectacle remains to be seen, but for Cejudo, the Miami date represents a genuine professional milestone in a career that has already spanned two elite combat sports.