Henry Cejudo Comes Up With Idea To Establish Next Contender After Aldo

Getty Henry Cejudo defeats TJ Dillashaw at UFC Fight Night 143.

UFC Bantamweight Champion Henry “The Messenger” Cejudo wants to fight Jose Aldo next, and he has an idea what the division’s #2 and #3 ranked fighters can do in the meantime.

Cejudo, who also likes to be known as “Triple C” because of his UFC double-champ accolade and Olympic gold medal in wrestling, replied to a fellow bantamweight that has been campaigning hard to fight him, Aljamain Sterling.

Cejudo tweeted an unorthodox idea on how #2 ranked Sterling, and #3 ranked Petr Yan can determine who will be next to “bend the knee” after Aldo.

“Why don’t you guys have a make out session, and winner has the honor to bend the knee to King Triple C!” Cejudo said in the tweet.

Sterling and Yan have been in a constant war of words with Cejudo, hoping to earn the next shot at the UFC bantamweight championship. The Messenger has different plans, however.

Former featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo recently dropped down to bantamweight and lost a razor-thin decision to #1 ranked fighter Marlon Moraes at UFC 245.

The Messenger finished Moraes in June 2019 to win the bantamweight gold, so presumably Moraes will need to win one more fight before he gets another crack at the title, especially with how stacked the top of the bantamweight division is right now.

Moraes’ win over Aldo was controversial as well. Once the three-round war was over between Moraes and Aldo, many fans, fighters and journalists scored the match for Aldo. Another person to score the fight for the former featherweight champion was UFC president Dana White.

He ultimately lost the decision, but that hasn’t stopped Cejudo from campaigning for Aldo to be his next challenger. Because of Aldo’s distinguished career, as well as his strong performance at UFC 245, the fight makes sense to The Messenger.

Still, the judges saw the fight for Moraes, and Aldo is officially 0–1 at bantamweight. It wouldn’t be unprecedented if Aldo was awarded a title shot after a loss, though. For example, both Nick Diaz and Alexander Gustafsson were given a chance to fight for gold after a defeat.

Nick Diaz received a shot at Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight belt after losing a controversial decision to Carlos Condit, and Alexander Gustafsson fought Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight strap after suffering a brutal KO at the hands of Anthony Johnson.

Statistically, Jose Aldo’s UFC record is more illustrious than both Diaz’s and Gustafsson’s. Both haven’t won a UFC championship and Aldo is a two-time UFC featherweight champion with seven defenses. Aldo is ready and willing to sign the contract to fight Cejudo.

Well, two people believe Aldo shouldn’t fight the bantamweight champion, and that’s Sterling and Yan. Sterling has been on a tear through the bantamweight division, winning his last four bouts including fights against top contenders Jimmie Rivera and Pedro Munhoz. Petr Yan has climbed up the rankings quickly since he joined the promotion in 2018. He has won all six of his UFC fights, including last month’s devastating KO win over Hall of Famer Urijah Faber at UFC 245.

Both men believe they have done enough in the Octagon to earn the next title shot against The Messenger. But, despite their resumes, Cejudo isn’t convinced.

Time will tell if the champ gets his fight with Aldo, and if Sterling and Yan will have to fight each other to be the next in line.

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