"This is all about making money" - Henry Cejudo ready to "behead" Sean O'Malley to get more respect
Henry Cejudo claims he is ready to fight Sean O'Malley to earn the "respect" that befits a former two-division champion like himself. 'Triple C' wants to end O'Malley's hype train and yet again put up a statement-making performance in the division he once ruled over.
Although he'd like to fight for top honors inside the octagon, Cejudo is aware that a fight against 'Sugar' will earn him a good payday. While he'd love to fight O'Malley, Cejudo says his rivalry with the 27-year-old isn't personal and that "it's all business."
During a recent interaction with ESPN MMA's Marc Raimondi, Cejudo weighed in on a potential clash with surging bantamweight contender Sean O'Malley, saying:
"I actually don't mind. Oh man, I really don't mind. To me, this is all about making money and if I have to have to behead him to, you know, to get a little more respect and to kind of upgrade my status, then that's what I have to do. But to me, it's all business."
Watch the interview below:
Henry Cejudo explains why the UFC wouldn't want him to fight Sean O'Malley
Henry Cejudo doesn't think that a potential clash between him and Sean O'Malley will come to fruition anytime soon.
According to the 2008 Olympic gold medalist, a loss against him for O'Malley would be detrimental to the UFC's business as he is a popular fighter with immense hype behind him.
"Hey Sean, when would you want to bend the knee?"
"This guy is crazy, nobody takes that dude seriously..."
When @HenryCejudo crashed @SugaSeanMMA's interview backstage at #UFC276
🍿👀 https://t.co/qURWwjqdEZ
O'Malley losing to Cejudo would likely kill a lot of that hype and that's why 'Triple C' doesn't think that the UFC brass will want to book that fight. Cejudo also claimed that he would seriously "hurt" the 27-year-old if they ended up fighting.
He told Raimondi:
"The UFC is not ready for him to die, you know what I'm saying? It took him five days, it took Sean O'Malley five days to reply to me after I freaking crashed his interview. It took him five days to really think about it and he even tagged my actual name. He's playing those games. I'll hurt that dude and I don't think the UFC is willing to do that and if I do end up fighting Sean, I would like to make money off of him."
In a recent tweet, however, O'Malley seemingly called out Cejudo for a fight on September 10. Henry appeared to suggest an October date instead, claiming he isn't eligible to compete before then.
O'Malley will have to wait a little longer for a shot at Cejudo 🗓
(via @SugaSeanMMA, @HenryCejudo) https://t.co/Rc9QFmEgRn