Henry Cejudo scorches UFC for protecting Sean O'Malley after 50-45 loss: "They like the teeny poppers"
Henry Cejudo shared his thoughts on Sean O'Malley locking in a rematch with Merab Dvalishvili. Although, Cejudo feels the rematch was on the cards, he doesn't feel O'Malley deserved it because of his one-sided loss in the duo's first fight.
'The Machine' unseated 'Suga' from the 135-pound throne after securing a dominant unanimous decision victory at UFC 306 in September last year.
The sequel clash is now set for June 7 in Newark, New Jersey as Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 will headline UFC 316. Cejudo is a former bantamweight champion in his own right and was discussing the direction the UFC was taking by booking this title fight.
While discussing this with co-host Kamaru Usman on their Pound 4 Pound podcast, Henry Cejudo said:
"It was the right thing to do to protect him, but I just feel like Sean has to get it done within the first two rounds. He's being protected, dude. Like, does somebody really deserve a rematch after getting 50-45, Kamaru Usman? Like, no. You got 50-45."
He added:
"Get in the back of the motherf*cking line and fight the Triple C, but he's not going to get that. The UFC, they like him. They like the teeny poppers. They want to get into that new generation, Gen Z."
Check out Henry Cejudo's comments below (1:55):
Henry Cejudo picks the potential winner of Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2
Henry Cejudo also went on to offer up his thoughts on this looming bantamweight title rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley during the aforementioned video.
When getting into the specifics of if he sees anything going differently from the first fight these two had at UFC 306, Cejudo stated:
"Merab Dvalishvili, he's pretty much going to do the same thing. Level change, strike, level change, strike. Maybe give up the first round and bring in the takedowns. It's the same thing. The question is to me, could a guy like Sean O'Malley hit him to the body early, crack him to the face, and get rid of him?" [2:51 onwards]
He added:
"He did hurt him to the body in the fifth, and that's an indicator that the body could be open, and I think if Merab starts getting hit to the body, he's going to really pivot the pace. I can see Merab Dvalishvili stopping him this time around, and just getting on top of him and ground and pounding him to a pulp."