Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo is not convinced that Petr Yan is that Petr Yan is the bantamweight GOAT.
After beating Merab Dvalishvili for a second time in the co-main event of UFC 333 last weekend, many fans and analysts have said that Yan is the best to ever do it at 135 lbs. UFC president Dana White also said he agrees with that sentiment.
Cejudo, however, seemingly does not agree.
Henry Cejudo Not Sure Petr Yan Is Bantamweight GOAT
Speaking on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast, Cejudo said that he’s not ready to annoint Yan as the UFC bantamweight GOAT.
“Petr Yan just defeated Merab Dvalishvili, and now everybody’s saying that with one title defense, he’s the greatest bantamweight of all time. I mean, we have Dominick Cruz, we have Aljamain Sterling who beat him twice, we have T.J. ‘Eposhaw’ (Dillashaw) that’s in there. I mean, there’s a lot of people that have way more title defenses, and I think that’s too premature. He’s going to have to catch up to the numbers of what Merab, Aljo, Dominick Cruz or T.J. has done in the bantamweight division,” Cejudo said (via MMAjunkie.com).
“In a five-round fight against Petr, it’s going to be hard for these dudes to take him out. That’s why I’m excited to see where the bantamweight division is actually going to go. But when it comes to you’re only as good as your last, people throw that (expletive) out there super quick. Yan is good, but if he can hit up those numbers like (Alexander) Volkanovski just did to surpass Jose Aldo (at featherweight), then that just becomes different. It’s not fair to say somebody is the greatest just because he beat Merab and Merab’s getting (explosive) older. There’s a lot to the equation.”
Petr Yan’s Bantamweight Resume
While Cejudo is right to ponder Yan’s spot as the bantamweight GOAT, his resume speaks for itself, with two title reigns at 135 lbs, plus notable wins over Dvalishvili twice, Aldo, Cory Sandhagen, Urijah Faber, Deiveson Figueiredo, Song Yadong, and many more in his MMA career, where he holds a 21-5 overall record.
Henry Cejudo Not Convinced Petr Yan Is UFC Bantamweight GOAT