Newly Minted Flyweight Champion Looking To Cement His Legacy By Becoming ‘ Triple Champ’
Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo couldn’t finish the Demetrious Johnson at Saturday’s UFC 227 PPV event but did enough to edge out Johnson to win the men’s flyweight championship via split decision and end the most dominant title run of Johnson, who was unable to reel off a 12th consecutive title defense.
After a historic win over ‘Mighty Mouse,’ Cejudo called for a shot at the Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, who also knockout his formal rival Cody Garbrant in the main event of UFC 227.
Cejudo who is former Olympic medalist, now coming off winning a flyweight title, Henry is now eyeing to become a two-division champion by moving up at 135-pound to challenge Dillashaw. (Via BloodyElbow)
“If you guys watch my fight look at how muscular, how much bigger I am than Demetrious Johnson,” Cejudo said at the UFC 227 post-fight press conference, “I’m a tank, man. I can easily fill out at 135 pounds and feel good.
“The other reason, too, they’ve always talked about TJ and DJ superfight. They neglected Henry Cejudo in the promos. They neglected Henry Cejudo in practically everything. And I get it because America is all about winners. Now that I’m a winner, I’m asking. I’m an Olympic champ. I’m a UFC champ. And now I’m asking to be a triple champ.”
Newly crowned champion Cejudo is open to the idea of Dillashaw moving down to 125-pound, but he prefers to move up in weight class and challenge the bantamweight champion.
“If he wants to come down we can talk, I’d rather go up,” added Cejudo. “I want to make history.
After winning over Garbrandt, Dillashaw initially accepted the bout with little hesitation by saying “Bring it on, baby, Let’s do it.” Now Dillashaw doesn’t seem much interested in a showdown against Henry Cejudo, believes he is not deserving of a title shot at 135-pound.
“You know, I don’t really think the guy would deserve it,” Dillashaw told reporters after his big win over Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227. “I mean, Joseph Benavidez just beat him. Yeah, he lost a split decision to Pettis, but I didn’t agree with that loss. So, I think there’s a lot of stuff there. And he’s got, possibly, a trilogy with ‘Mighty Mouse.’ So, I don’t know. I’m open for whatever, though. I’m not stepping away from a challenge, that’s for sure.”
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Cejudo open to run it back with former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson in a rematch.
Time will tell if Dillashaw vs. Cejudo will happen in near future.
