5 reasons why the UFC should not book Alexander Volkanovski vs. Henry Cejudo
After UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski defended his title successfully against Brian Ortega last weekend, the question of who is next for ‘The Great’ has unsurprisingly been raised.
One potential opponent for Alexander Volkanovski is former UFC bantamweight and flyweight kingpin Henry Cejudo, who has called the Australian out over the last few days, begging for his chance to make history.
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Alexander Volkanovski has already offered a retort to ‘Triple C’. The Australian suggested Cejudo doesn’t deserve a UFC featherweight title shot and the UFC won’t take him seriously. However, with the way the promotion has acted in recent years, you just never know.
So should the UFC book a fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Henry Cejudo for the featherweight title? The answer is absolutely not and here are five reasons why.
#5. If Henry Cejudo were to beat Alexander Volkanovski, the UFC featherweight division could be in trouble
Right now, the UFC’s featherweight division is one of the most interesting in the promotion. Champion Alexander Volkanovski clearly has an interest in remaining active and taking on as many fights as possible Unlike other UFC champs, he hasn’t previously fought many of his potential challengers.
Sure, the UFC could throw a curveball and book Alexander Volkanovski to defend against Henry Cejudo. If Volkanovski were to win, then realistically, no harm would be done. But what if ‘The Great’ were to lose to the former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion? Simply put, the UFC’s featherweight division could be in a lot of trouble.
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Not only would it lose some of its credibility, with a proven champion losing to a smaller fighter, but quite where it’d go in the future would be up in the air entirely. Essentially, the UFC wouldn’t be able to guarantee that Henry Cejudo would even be willing to defend his newly-won title when you take into account his recent behavior.
For those who’ve forgotten, ‘Triple C’ won the UFC bantamweight title in June 2019, defended it once and then promptly announced his retirement from MMA. That's despite rumors suggesting his move was all about squeezing the UFC for more money.
If he were to win the UFC featherweight division, then Cejudo’s bargaining power would be at an all-time high. There’s no telling if the UFC would acquiesce to his demands. If that were to happen, the featherweight division would be badly hurt.
It’s a risk that the UFC just shouldn’t be willing to take.