Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Henry Cejudo needs a big name if he is to fight again.
Cejudo has been retired ever since he called it a day following his TKO win over Dominick Cruz to defend his bantamweight title at UFC 249 in May last year.
However, the former two-weight champion has continued to hint at a comeback with many observers believing he would return if the money was right.
Who does Nurmagomedov — who recently retired himself — think Cejudo should fight?
“I think they need someone to become good, like star, like win and defend a couple times,” Nurmagomedov told EsNews. “Bring something. He [Cejudo] can bring so much to the table but I don’t think someone have, right now in the bantamweight and flyweight, who can bring so much like him to the table. When he gonna go to the cage, he is going to bring Olympic gold medal, flyweight and bantamweight belt you know.
“What are they going to bring? They have to bring something. This show become all about numbers. You have to bring some numbers. This is what I think.
When asked how good Cejudo really is, Nurmagomedov responded:
“Olympic champion. This is different level athlete. This is my opinion. UFC champion twice.”
Cejudo Wants Another Belt
As far as what Cejudo wants? It’s very simple. He either wants a chance at becoming a three-division champion or getting a big payday.
“You know what I would love? If it was up to me, Khabib, I would love to fight for another belt, for legacy,” Cejudo said. “Alexander Volkanovski. … Or money. Petr Yan — I don’t mind fighting Petr Yan in Russia, but they pay me right.”
Nurmagomedov would jokingly reply: “This is a message for Dana [White].”
From what we’ve seen so far, though, it doesn’t look like White is ready to cave in to Cejudo’s demands anytime soon.
You can watch the full clip below:
