Henry Cejudo Gets a New, Undefeated Boxing Debut Opponent

Henry Cejudo's boxing debut is still on for Sept. 26 in Miami, but the man across from him has changed. Misfits Boxing confirmed Tuesday that original opponent Deen The Great is out with an injury, and stepping in on short notice is Most Valuable Promotions fighter Wanna Walton, a 20-year-old with a 3-0-1 record under the Jake Paul-led banner.

For Cejudo, this is a genuinely strange chapter. The 39-year-old is one of the most decorated athletes combat sports has ever produced: 2008 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold, then UFC titles at both 135 and 125 pounds. His MMA ledger sits at 16-6 (8 KO), but his cage story ended flat — he went 0-4 across a comeback run and retired again in 2025 after a decision loss to Payton Talbott.

Who Is Wanna Walton?

Walton is best known off the canvas. He's an actor with credits on Euphoria and The Umbrella Academy, and only recently turned to fighting. His pro boxing debut was a first-round knockout of Moises Guzman Almonte, and he's since built a 3-0-1 record for MVP. He's untested against anyone with Cejudo's pedigree, but he's also the fresh, undefeated variable in a fight nobody was booking three weeks ago.

The deal itself matters as much as the matchup. MVP executive Nakisa Bidarian said Misfits put up a significant financial guarantee to get Walton in on short notice against an Olympic gold medalist and two-division UFC champion — a rare cross-promotional handshake between two competing crossover-boxing outfits. Bidarian framed it as a chance for Walton to prove himself against a genuine combat-sports name.

Cejudo, for his part, said he expected Deen The Great to withdraw all along and wasn't surprised by the exit. He took his usual swipes at the new opponent, promising to expose Walton as an actor rather than a fighter.

There's context to Cejudo's recent activity, too. He's been grappling again under the RAF banner, beating Urijah Faber in his debut and splitting a series with old UFC foe Merab Dvalishvili — including a 36-second pinfall win in August. Boxing, though, is new terrain for a man whose entire career has been built on wrestling and mixed rules. On Sept. 26, we find out how much of that translates.