Henry Cejudo Still Eyes Alex Volkanovski Fight, Lauds Cory Sandhagen
Former flyweight and bantamweight king Henry Cejudo is keeping his eye on a third UFC title, but explains why he believes UFC president Dana White isn’t willing to book the Alex Volkanovski fight that he desires.
Cejudo announced his retirement from the sport after successfully defending his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. But even though he is choosing to remain on the sidelines, the 34 year old has said that he would come out of retirement to challenge UFC featherweight champion, Volkanovski.
Alex Volkanovski
Speaking on the Belal Muhammad Show (as transcribed by BJPenn.com), Cejudo explained why he believes Dana is not sold on the idea of him fighting Volkanovski.
“The fight that really tugs at me is fighting Volkanovski. I want to make history, man,” Cejudo said. “I’ve made history already, I want to continue stacking the accolades and that’s it man. I know I can beat Volkanovski, Dana White knows that I can beat Volkanovski. Somebody personal and dear to me, said to me, ‘The reason Dana White doesn’t want to give me the title shot is because he knows that I’ll beat Volkanovski and he thinks I’ll retire again.’”
Cory Sandhagen
Cory Sandhagen’s highlight-reel knockout win against Frankie Edgar at UFC Vegas 18 has certainly caught the attention of the MMA world, including Cejudo, who told The Schmo (as transcribed by MMA Junkie) that ‘The Sandman’ is the best bantamweight on the planet other than him.
“He’s probably, in my opinion, the best 135 pounder other than me,” Cejudo said. “But you just have to learn to bring the fight to Cory Sandhagen. You just gotta bring the fight, that’s it. You cannot give that kid space. He’s extremely dangerous; he’s got talent. But if you don’t bring the fight, he’s gonna get you because there’s one thing that he does know very well, and that’s distance and his composure, which are the things that I look at when I watch a fight.”
Cory Sandhagen vs TJ Dillashaw
Sandhagen’s most recent win has cemented him as the number one contender in the division, and he expects to face the winner of Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling, set to compete at UFC 259. However, TJ Dillashaw, who was cleared to fight after a two-year doping suspension last month, wants an immediate title shot upon his return. Cejudo believes that this could set things up perfectly for a title eliminator.
“I would wait in line if I were him,” Cejudo said. “I would also wait for TJ too, because that’s an easy fight for him. The difference between Cory Sandhagen and TJ Dillashaw, is the fact that he’s better at what Dillashaw does. He’s a lot cleaner; he’s a lot smoother. They have similar styles, but TJ’s style is a lot more broken, that Duane ‘Bang’ whatever it’s called. So if I was Cory, I would wait. If I was TJ, I would probably try to fight him to get to that title shot.”
Would you like to see Henry Cejudo come out of retirement to fight Alex Volkanovski?
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