Henry Cejudo detailed the different options for his next UFC fight.
On May 6, Cejudo returned from a three-year layoff and suffered a close split decision loss against Aljamain Sterling for the UFC bantamweight championship. After briefly considering retirement, ‘Triple C’ announced he didn’t want to leave on these terms, leading to him calling out Merab Dvalishvili.
Unfortunately, Dvalishvili suffered a hand injury that required surgery in his last fight against Petr Yan. Since the ‘The Machine’ will be sidelined for several months, it was unclear if Cejudo planned to pursue another opponent.
During an interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN, the former two-division UFC champion had this to say:
“I’m gonna wait for Merab. I think Merab being the number-one contender, whenever he’s ready. When you’re the champ, you have leverage to be able to call your days… When you don’t have that leverage, you don’t pick and choose. You just gotta go with the flow, so in this scenario, I have to wait for Merab. I have to wait for him to heal up that right hand because that’s my fastest return to a title shot.”
Henry Cejudo discusses potential matchup against Max Holloway at featherweight and Brandon Moreno at flyweight
Before retiring in 2020, Henry Cejudo held the UFC bantamweight and flyweight championships. While he was away, the Olympic gold medalist put on a few pounds, making it difficult to return to 125 pounds. Meanwhile, Cejudo returned from retirement with plans to defeat Aljamain Sterling and then attempt to capture the featherweight title against Alexander Volkanovski.
During the same interview with Brett Okamoto, Cejudo discussed the possibility of moving to flyweight or featherweight, assuming the fight against Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t materialize:
“If nothing takes place [with Merab Dvalishvili], I’d be willing to challenge [Max] Holloway. As sh*tty as I looked against Aljamain [Sterling], I know when the stakes are high that’s when I could really compete… I’m not opposed to it, man. I’m not opposed to that fight with Holloway, nor am I opposed to Brandon Moreno if the UFC wants to show us the money… No [I wouldn’t move back down to 125 pounds]. Bring him up and then who knows? If the UFC is willing to over me a bunch of money to go down to 125, I will do it.”
Dana White and the UFC weren’t willing to give Cejudo an immediate title shot at featherweight, leading to him mentioning Max Holloway. Meanwhile, ‘Triple C’ used to be close friends with Brandon Moreno before a falling out that led to a rivalry. Therefore, the former two-division UFC champion would be interested in a fight against Moreno.
