5 Fights for Henry Cejudo if he returns in 2022

Henry ‘The Messenger’ Cejudo had a very eventful career.

He transitioned from freestyle wrestling, where he was an Olympic gold medalist, to MMA in 2013. At UFC 227, Cejudo defeated Demetrious Johnson by split-decision to pull-off the upset and become the new UFC flyweight champion. ‘The Messenger’ then moved up to 135lbs and defeated Marlon Moraes to win the vacant UFC bantamweight championship.

‘The Messenger’ made history by becoming the first Olympic gold medalist to win a UFC championship. Cejudo also joined the list of fighters to win a UFC championship in two weight-classes and hold them simultaneously. Cejudo, now referring to himself as ‘Triple C’, defended the bantamweight championship against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. He then announced his retirement post-fight and relinquished the title.

The end of Triple C? 😱

Henry Cejudo announces his retirement immediately after his win over Dominick Cruz at #UFC249... https://t.co/V6kZCYJutn

Since retiring, it’s been no secret that Cejudo would return to the octagon for the right price and the right fight. With Cejudo’s manager stating there’s a “100-percent” chance he’ll be returning in 2022, it’ll be interesting to see who he fights. This list will look at 5 opponents for Henry Cejudo if he returns in 2022.

#5. Henry Cejudo vs. Jose Aldo

Kicking off this list of opponents for Henry Cejudo is Jose Aldo. The former UFC featherweight champion has had a resurgence in his career since moving down to bantamweight. He had a rough start to his journey at 135lbs. However, he has turned it around and could be one fight away from another title shot

Based on the UFC bantamweight rankings, Aldo vs. Cejudo would make a lot of sense. Cejudo and Aldo were originally scheduled to compete at UFC 250 but travel restrictions forced Aldo to withdraw from the bout. Dominick Cruz replaced Aldo and, after Cejudo retired, Aldo fought Petr Yan for the vacant title instead.

Breaking: UFC bantamweight champ Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo), aka Triple C, will defend his title against featherweight GOAT Jose Aldo (@josealdojunior) at UFC 250 on May 19 in São Paulo, Brazil, per Dana White and additional sources. https://t.co/PkYq4Xy4oS

The UFC recently confirmed that they’ll be bringing an event to Brazil. Sao Paulo was where the two were scheduled to fight prior to the pandemic, so that’d be the perfect location.