Retired former UFC champion and Olympic gold medallist Henry Cejudo has urged boss Dana White to set up a fight with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanosvki after the Australian’s remarkable victory at UFC 266.
The Australian’s 20th straight MMA win put him on the map in the US, with fight fans lauding the Aussie’s toughness and “Houdini-like” escape tactics against Brian Ortega, earning him widespread praise.
The champion’s performance however didn’t sit well with a couple of former champions.
And Henry Cejudo, the former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion wants a piece of the Aussie, posting to social media in the aftermath of the victory calling for a shot at the Wollongong native.
Volkanovski brushed off Cejudo as “the little germ” in the post-fight press conference, however that didn’t deter Cejudo from begging White to let him have a crack at the featherweight titleholder.
“Alexander the Average, this overgrown midget,” Cejudo told TMZ Sports. “This is the thing, it’s not even a challenge against this ugly face. It’s really a challenge against Dana White.
“How are you gonna doubt an Olympic champ, dude? Olympic champ, how are you gonna doubt a flyweight champ and a two-division champ in the UFC? It’s crazy. Anybody that would doubt me is freaking crazy. Let me go up, man.”
Cejudo retired from MMA last year following his bantamweight title defence over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. Yet he has still expressed interest in returning for a shot at the featherweight belt, and a chance at history. The former champ left the fight game in part due to a pay dispute, and said convincing White is a bigger obstacle than fighting Volkanovski.
“Not only do I believe that I can beat him, I know I can stop him,” Cejudo said. “As much as I saw good things from Volkanovski, there are still a lot of holes.
“I believe my height would be problem for him, because he is a couple inches taller than me. My speed, my wrestling, my experience, I’ve been in there against the best. Okay, Alexander the Average had a great performance, it was a great fight, I just believe that I have the ‘it’ factor to beat this dude. Not only to beat this dude, but to stop him.
“Allow me to make history. If he’s that good, allow him to shut me up. Dana White, if you’re listening, this is a real message. Forget the cringe, forget the persona, this is straight up me: I am the greatest combat athlete of all time and I promise you, if you give me the opportunity, I will knock this dude out in no less than three rounds.”
Despite saying that Cejudo does not deserve a title shot, Volkanovski admitted that he’d be open to fighting him because he wants to fight more often than he has the past year.
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