Henry Cejudo undermines Islam Makhachev’s championship reign, laughs off his #2 pound for pound ranking
Islam Makhachev's first title defense against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski was a success. However, the lightweight champion was tested to the limit by his Australian counterpart, whom he also failed to dislodge from the top spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo weighed in on Makhachev's championship success and attributed it to external factors beyond merit while also mentioning his inflated pound-for-pound status.
Cejudo said to legendary flyweight Demetrius Johnson:
“Makhachev has never - like they gave that dude a speed pass to fight for the title. Yeah, for Islam. And then now all of a sudden he’s No.2 pound-for-pound and now he’s pound-for-pound [No.1]. ”
Johnson countered by stating Makhachev's win streak, which is currently extended to the longest active streak in the promotion, before siding with Cejudo's assessment. 'Mighty Mouse' also speculated if Khabib Nurmagomedov's presence at the apex of the division hindered any potential matchups for Makhachev.
'DJ' said:
“Isn’t he on like a 15-fight win streak? But he never fought like, you’re actually kind of right because he never fought Beneil, he never fought Charles, he never fought the hierarchy of [the division]. We say that because it does make sense. Khabib did fight Edson Barboza, he did fight Justin Gaethje, he did fight Dustin Poirier.
"So he fought that top five, Islam missed it probably because Khabib was beating their asses and when Khabib left…”
Catch the exchange between the two former flyweight champions on Henry Cejudo's YouTube channel:
Islam Makhachev's team responds to accusations from Dan Hooker
Alexander Volkanovski's City Kickboxing teammate Dan Hooker has come out with serious allegations against Islam Makhachev in the aftermath of his UFC 284 win.
'The Hangman' previously fought and lost to the Dagestan-born fighter via submission and does share history with him. He took to Twitter and accused Makhachev of using intravenous injections or IV.
"Dumb cunt thinks he can fly to Australia hire a nurse to give him an I.V and we won’t find out. Cheating dog."
Dumb cunt thinks he can fly to Australia hire a nurse to give him an I.V and we won’t find out. Cheating dog.
Islam Makhachev's manager Rizvan Magomedov denied the allegations on Twitter by citing jealousy on the part of Hooker.
"Jealous losers speeding lies, eventually this is all you can do"
Check out his tweet below:
Jealous losers speeding lies, eventually this is all you can do
The UFC or the United States Anti-Doping Agency are yet to comment on the situation or verify Hooker's claims.