Henry Cejudo has been trying to secure a fight with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. His manager, Ali Abdelaziz says that Triple C will keep fighting, no matter how that fight goes.
Cejudo retired from the sport after earning champ-champ status, then ultimately vacating both titles. However from the moment he made this announcement, he has continued to call out various champions at flyweight, bantamweight, and most recently featherweight, with him demanding a fight with Alexander Volkanovski.
However according to Abdelaziz, who manages a slew of fighters including Triple C, this would not be a case of Henry returning for one fight, then walking away with a third title. Speaking in a recent interview, he says that Henry plans to keep fighting, whether he wins or loses against Volkanovski, provided he gets that fight.
“If I thought Henry would beat Alexander and move on, I would never be involved,” Abdelaziz said. “If Henry’s a man of his word, when I asked Henry last Thursday night, if you win this title would you defend it? He said ‘Absolutely, I would defend it, and if I lose, I would go down to 135.’
“He’s in it, not just for one fight. He’s in it because he took some time off. The guy’s been competing since he was 12 years old, and he gave his body a little bit of time, but he’s back. He’s back and he wants to fight, but it needs to make sense.”
Henry Cejudo Wanted To Miss Competition
While Ali Abdelaziz seems certain that Henry Cejudo is not looking to fight just once, there is still the question as to what made him choose to retire in the first place. The way Ali explains it, Henry had been feeling a bit of burnout.
Between his career in Olympic wrestling, which saw him win a gold medal, and transitioning directly to MMA where he fought for three title across two weight classes, he has not taken a break from competing. So Ali says that now he has had the chance to miss the feeling of competing, he is ready to return for the right fights.
“(Cejudo) competed on such a high level since he was 12 years old and never took a break. Sometimes its not just physically, it’s mentally. He wanted to miss competition, and right now he’s in the gym, he’s helping coaching, and he wants to compete,” Abdelaziz said.
“When guys retire, I never call them and ask them if they need to fight. I left him alone, he came to me and said ‘Hey, I think I want to fight again.’ So I said ‘Okay, who do you want to fight?’ He said ‘Alexander. I want to make history, I want to be the first guy ever to win three belts.’ If anyone deserves an opportunity like this, it’s Henry Cejudo. The things he accomplished, nobody will ever accomplish in the sports world.”
Abdelaziz on Cejudo: "If I thought Henry would beat Alexander and move on, I would never be involved… When I asked Henry last Thursday night, 'if you win this title would you defend it?', he said 'absolutely, I would defend it and if I lose, I'll go down to 135.'" pic.twitter.com/nU54Gp0O56
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) October 12, 2021
Are you interested in seeing Henry Cejudo fight Alexander Volkanovski? Do you think he will keep fighting like Ali Abdelaziz said?
