Former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo excludes himself from the Mount Rushmore of MMA
Henry Cejudo is never one to shy away from boasting about his accomplishments. But when it comes to the Mount Rushmore of Mixed Martial Arts, he does not consider himself to be a part of it.
Speaking to Helen Yee in an interview, 'Triple C' named the four fighters whom he thinks deserve the GOAT status in MMA.
Henry Cejudo picks his MMA Mount Rushmore
Henry Cejudo was talking about Khabib Nurmagomedov and his retirement, and pointed out that the undefeated Dagestani does not belong in the MMA Mount Rushmore in his opinion.
But he did include a former rival in the list of names - Demetrious Johnson.
"Khabib is not a part of the GOAT Mountain. I'm not even part of the GOAT Mountain, to be honest with you... My take is it's Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, GSP (Georges St-Pierre). I would put GSP at no. 4."
Henry Cejudo faced Demetrious Johnson twice, with both winning one fight each. Demetrious Johnson won via knockout at UFC 197 in 2016, and Henry Cejudo squared it off with a decision win in 2018 at UFC 227.
However, when it comes to combat sports in general, he would keep himself in the No. 1 position, along with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier.
"But I will say this, in the GOAT Mountain of combat sports, I remain no. 1. Then I will put Khabib with me, I will put Daniel Cormier with me, and I will put Fabricio Werdum, because these are the people that have done something in combat sports and that's it."
Henry Cejudo thinks Khabib Nurmagomedov will return
Henry Cejudo calls Khabib Nurmagomedov a good friend of his. But he thinks 'The Eagle' is yet to accomplish everything in his MMA career, contrary to what Khabib himself is saying.
Henry Cejudo believes Khabib's decision to retire was an emotional call, and he will certainly return to the Octagon to keep the promise of 30 fights he had made to his father.
"I think he will. I think he has his dad's promise for the 30 fights. I think he's just emotional... Khabib has not done everything in his career."
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired a month ago after winning the 29th fight of his career against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. He said that he does not want to fight without his father, who passed away earlier this year.
However, almost everyone close to the situation is saying he will return, including UFC President Dana White and Khabib's manager Ali Abdelaziz - everyone except Khabib himself.