5 potential fights for Henry Cejudo at bantamweight
After more than two years out of action, it looks like former UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo will be making a return to the octagon in the near future.
Despite suggesting that he wanted to return as a featherweight, Henry Cejudo appears to be ready to step back into the bantamweight division. So. who should welcome him back?
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Thankfully, there are plenty of potential opponents out there at 135 pounds for ‘Triple C’. Whoever the UFC decides to match him with, the fans should expect fireworks.
Here are five potential opponents for Cejudo at bantamweight.
#5. Henry Cejudo vs. Petr Yan
If the UFC decides not to give Henry Cejudo a shot at the bantamweight title upon his return to action, then they could do a lot worse than to match him with the man who claimed the title in his absence, former champion Petr Yan.
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Yan is coming off a tight loss to current champion Aljamain Sterling, but many observers felt that he deserved the nod in that bout. In truth, had he not knocked Sterling out with an illegal knee in their first clash, he may well still be holding the title now.
More interestingly, there’s a ready-made grudge of sorts between ‘No Mercy’ and ‘Triple C’. That's based around the fact that when Cejudo was holding the bantamweight title, he was accused of avoiding a fight with Yan, preferring to face Dominick Cruz rather than the Russian despite his impressive record.
Even if there wasn’t bad blood between the two, this would be a genuinely excellent bout, pitting an expert wrestler in Cejudo against a remarkably dangerous striker in Yan. Based on the strengths of both men, it’d be a near-impossible fight to pick a winner in.
Add in the fact that a win for either man would almost certainly propel them right into a title shot, and it’d be a high-risk, high-reward bout for both Cejudo and Yan, and would be an easy Fight Night headliner for the UFC.