The UFC’s president, Dana White, is not interested in fulfilling a former champion’s dream.
Ex-UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo is one of a few fighters to simultaneously hold two divisional UFC titles. The retired fighter wants to be the first combatant to ever capture three different UFC weight class titles.
“Triple C,” who also has an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling, has his eyes on obtaining the featherweight championship. He’s challenged reigning 145-pound king Alexander Volkanovski several times and after Max Holloway pulled out of their upcoming trilogy fight, Cejudo inserted his name as a replacement.
GettyHenry Cejudo
Unfortunately for Cejudo, the UFC president decided to give the opportunity to “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung. He will fight Volkanovski at UFC 273 on April 9, 2022.
Speaking with BT Sport, White said he has no plans on giving Cejudo an immediate title shot, considering he hasn’t fought since May 2020.
“I can tell you this: The ‘Korean Zombie’ (Chan Sung Jung) has been here fighting,” White told BT Sport. “This guy’s retired. He’s been off for how many years now, and he wants to come in and fight Alexander Volkanovski? You’ve got guys like the Zombie, Josh Emmett, Giga (Chikadze) who’s fighting this weekend. You’ve got these guys that are in here doing it three times a year and working their way up. For Cejudo to retire and then just think he should be able to come in and jump into any weight division and take on the champion, it’s not how it works.”
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Cejudo Said His Situation Isn’t the Same as Georges St-Pierre’s
According to Cejudo, White is “scared” to put the fight on, pleading his case for why a match with Volkanovski makes sense during a recent episode of his podcast.
“No crown,” Cejudo tweeted. “No cringe. No gimmick. Just facts… I told @AliAbdelaziz00 (Cejudo’s manager” ‘make this fight happen’. This isn’t a GSP situation, I’d defend the belt. The UFC & Dana White don’t want to give me a chance to make history. Dana is scared. It’s a monopoly.”
Watch below:
No crown. No cringe. No gimmick. Just facts…
I told @AliAbdelaziz00 “make this fight happen”. This isn’t a GSP situation, I’d defend the belt. The UFC & Dana White don’t want to give me a chance to make history. Dana is scared. It’s a monopoly.
👑👓: t.co/HUIVjd7hhA
Triple C compared his situation to Georges St-Pierre. “GSP,” the longtime welterweight champion, returned to the sport in 2017 and won the middleweight title. He received an instant title fight against then-champ Michael Bisping and he vacated the belt around a month later, never defending it.
Cejudo claimed that he will defend the featherweight belt should he win it.
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Cejudo Holds Wins Over Several Former Champions
Triple C has had a lot of success inside the UFC’s Octagon. He has a professional MMA record of 16-2, and Cejudo has earned notable victories over the likes of former UFC flyweight king Demetrious Johnson and former UFC bantamweight champions Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw.
Further, Cejudo is credited for defending both the bantamweight and flyweight belts once.
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Dana White Shuts Down Ex-UFC Champ’s Dream: ‘Not How It Works’