The UFC’s bantamweight division might just be the most stacked one right now. With dynamic fighters in the mix like Sean O’Malley, Merab Dvalishvili, and Petr Yan, fans couldn’t be more excited about all the possible matchups. However, one name that fans might have tentatively left behind is the former two-division champion, Henry Cejudo.
The good news is, the 36-year-old is making a grand comeback at UFC 288 against Aljamain Sterling. May 7 will mark Cejudo’s return to the Octagon after almost 3 years when he finished former champion, Dominick Cruz. Even though fans find his shtick to be cringe-worthy, they can’t deny that ‘Tripe C‘ is one of the greatest to have ever graced the Octagon.
Recently, UFC welterweight, Jorge Masvidal, made an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The duo discussed MMA and other things. During a particular segment, Joe and Masvidal found themselves contemplating the current state of the bantamweight division. They mixed and matched a few fighters while trying to decide their potential outcomes.
Touching on Cejudo, Joe shared, “He[Henry Cejudo] is the gameplan master. You know I talked to Mighty Mouse[Demetrious Johnson] about him and Mighty did some training down there. Demetrious said he’s never met a dude who’s more meticulous about his training and what he’s trying to accomplish. How Cejudo has those goals aligned. He’s like Henry was very inspirational.”
After this, Masvidal spoke on the upcoming UFC 288 main event. He said, “If he beats Aljamain Sterling, you gotta rank Cejudo up on MMA Mt. Rushmore. If he[Henry] goes and fights Volkanovski like he’s been saying for years. If [he] was to beat Volkanovski, I think he’d be the greatest fighter in my generation.”
“He would be the first guy to win three titles in three different weight classes, and an Olympic gold medal. If he beats Aljamain and then goes up to 145 with Volkanovski, holy f**k,” added Rogan.
Henry Cejudo has set his eyes on his next three opponents
With the return of ‘Triple C’ closer than ever, pundits are predicting the possible matchups that can be made. Fans are already speculating how his second title reign would go if he were to dethrone bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling. However, it is worth mentioning that the 36-year-old has already set his sights on his future opponents – Sean O’Malley and Alexander Volkanovski.
Recently, Cejudo took to his YouTube channel and posted a video talking about the current bracket of the bantamweight division. He insinuated that he will defend his title against Sean O’Malley. Henry said, “You know personally I want Sean O’Malley. You know why? There’s a bunch of Pay-per-view points and I’m here to make money, ladies and gentlemen.”
Alexander Volkanovski ran into Henry Cejudo backstage after #UFC276 👀 pic.twitter.com/AUcRRcLvX0
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) July 3, 2022
It is unclear how many times the California resident will potentially defend the bantamweight title before eventually moving up to 145. In July 2022, UFC 276 witnessed Alexander Volkanovski put on a stellar performance against Max Holloway in their rubber match. Fortunately for Henry, he bumped into Volk backstage to set up a future bout. As per the video, no trash talk was involved and the duo seemed to share mutual respect.
Do you think Henry is overlooking his comeback fight against Aljamain Sterling? Let us know in the comments down below.
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