UFC Star Henry Cejudo Convinced Actions at Hit-and-Run Scene Saved Suspect’s Life
April 8, 2025, 3:33 AM PDT — UFC legend Henry Cejudo believes his quick intervention during a chaotic hit-and-run incident in his Phoenix neighborhood last Friday, April 4, may have saved the life of the suspect involved. The former two-division champion, still reeling from a technical decision loss to Song Yadong at UFC Seattle in February, turned from fighter to vigilante when a car carrying young adults crashed into a neighbor’s home at an estimated 80-100 mph, sparking a violent confrontation that Cejudo helped subdue.
The wild scene unfolded late Friday night on Cejudo’s U-shaped street in Phoenix, Arizona. Speaking to TMZ Sports on Monday, April 7, Cejudo recounted witnessing the vehicle careen down his block, go airborne after hitting a neighbor’s sprinkler system, and smash through another neighbor’s house. “You can see inside this room—if someone was standing there, they’d be dead,” he told MMA Junkie at the scene, noting the block had hosted a kids’ party hours earlier. After the crash, the occupants scattered, but when one suspect—later identified by police as 22-year-old Angel Cota—allegedly punched a 60-something homeowner who confronted them, Cejudo sprang into action.
“I picked him up, dropped him, slapped him around a little bit, and controlled him,” Cejudo said, describing how he used his Olympic wrestling skills and MMA training to pin Cota until Phoenix PD arrived. Posts on X hailed his gold silk pajamas as “a big W,” with one user joking, “Strickland would’ve taken him to decision.” Cejudo told TMZ he initially hesitated, fearing the fleeing suspects might be “armed and dangerous,” but acted when the neighbor was struck. “If I wasn’t there, this kid would’ve been dead,” he insisted, suggesting an armed neighbor’s intervention—or worse—might have escalated the situation fatally without his restraint.
Police booked Cota on charges of DUI, assault, and hit-and-run, with the other passengers also detained. No serious injuries were reported, a miracle Cejudo credited to timing. “Luckily, nobody was hurt,” he said, adding a hope that Cota “learns his lesson” through jail time. The incident, caught on producer Dylan Rush’s video, has since gone viral, shifting focus from Cejudo’s 0-3 skid since his 2023 UFC comeback to his off-octagon heroics.
As Trump’s tariffs tank markets—a $5 trillion S&P 500 hit—and global headlines churn, Cejudo’s actions offer a local counterpoint. The 38-year-old, who won Olympic wrestling gold in 2008 and UFC titles at flyweight and bantamweight, now mulls one final fight before retiring again. “I hope this kid figures out who he is,” he told TMZ, reflecting a mix of grit and grace that’s defined his career. For now, Phoenix sleeps safer—and the internet has a new meme in satin-clad “Triple C.”
