"My heart sunk"- Henry Cejudo talks about the time the UFC was about to get rid of the flyweight division
Henry Cejudo recently opened up about the flyweight division possibly being scrapped by the UFC after his title win against Demetrious Johnson back in 2018.
While in conversation with UFC lightweight Mark O. Madsen and former middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen, Cejudo described his reaction when he was told that the UFC were preparing to do away with the 115-pound division.
'Triple C' revealed that he was already eyeing a bantamweight move at the time, but felt bad for the up-and-coming flyweights:
“My heart sunk. I ain’t show it, I ain’t demonstrate it because at the same time, I was like man, I kinda was ready to go up. I kinda was sick of cutting weight, you know what I’m saying? But at the same time, I was thinking like what about all those little dudes that cannot make it at 135lbs? What about all of those guys? They’re going to be too small and they’re too good, but yet they’re too small for 135lbs."
Watch Henry Cejudo discuss the flyweight division below:
During the pre-fight press conference for UFC 227, Henry Cejudo notably asked UFC president Dana White to reconsider scrapping the weight class and allow his performance to dictate the future of the division. The Olympian made quick work of then-bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw, finishing him in 32 seconds via TKO to retain his flyweight belt.
Since 'Triple C's win, the UFC has seemingly benefitted from keeping the division. Reigning champion Deiveson Figueiredo and former champion Brandon Moreno have competed in arguably one of the greatest rivalries in UFC history, with a historic fourth installation scheduled for UFC 283 in Brazil next year.
Henry Cejudo wants to regain the UFC bantamweight championship
Following his title-winning performance against Demetrious Johnson, Henry Cejudo moved up to bantamweight. He defeated Marlon Moraes for the vacant title before defending the belt against Dominick Cruz. Following the win over Cruz in 2020, 'Triple C' vacated the 125 and 135-pound titles.
Since Cejudo re-entered the USADA testing pool last year, speculation surrounding who he'll face upon his return has been rife. With current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling eyeing a June 2023 return, Cejudo has now turned his attention to the No.1-ranked contender, Sean O'Malley.
The former two-division champion called for an interim title fight against O'Malley on Twitter.
O'Malley is coming off a narrow split-decision win over former champion Petr Yan at UFC 280. 'Sugar' recently responded to Cejudo's call-out, saying that he would rather rematch fellow top-ranked bantamweight contender Marlon Vera instead.