John McCarthy warns everyone underestimating Henry Cejudo's chances against Aljamain Sterling
John McCarthy is a strong believer in Henry Cejudo's abilities as a fighter, especially considering he will be coming off a three-year layoff in 2023.
During episode #318 of Weighing In, McCarthy told his co-host, Josh Thomson, that the former two-division UFC champion is being underestimated as he prepares for his comeback to the octagon.
The former MMA referee warned everyone who is underestimating Cejudo's chances against UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling:
"You guys are making a huge mistake. This is a guy that knows exactly who he is, what he needs to do, and where he needs to be in. He will get there cause he's done it his entire life at the highest level." [1:22:41 - 1:23:01]
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Thomson chimed in and evaluated the matchup between Sterling and 'Triple C'. He mentioned that his only concern with the matchup is how the layoff could affect the former champion:
"My only concern is the long layoff, which kind of bothers me a little bit because he [Cejudo] is gonna lose that fight pace timing, but 'Aljo' also doesn't fight at an extremely fast pace. He does in the first round, he's got a lot of movement and stuff, but he's gonna have to be very careful with Cejudo." [1:23:03 - 1:23:21]
Cejudo is very confident in his abilities and will look to regain the title that he relinquished when he initially retired in 2020.
'Triple C' has made it clear that he intends to regain the title and eventually challenge for the UFC featherweight championship in an attempt at becoming the first three-division champion in the promotion's history.
Check out the full video below:
John McCarthy weighs in on controversy regarding judge Doug Crosby
During the same episode of Weighing In, John McCarthy also touched on the ongoing Doug Crosby situation. The MMA judge recently made controversial decisions while on assignment with UFC and Bellator last weekend.
As a result of the controversy, the California State Athletic Commission introduced a new rule prohibiting judges from working back-to-back events.
McCarthy touched on the rules and was critical of the Commission because Crosby's wayward scorecards affected the Danny Sabatello vs. Raufeon Stots bout on the first night too:
"Quit licensing people that you know shouldn't be licensed. Listen to other people that tell you, 'Don't license that person, they don't know what they're looking at.' Instead of taking away job assignments from people that actually do know what they're looking at." [1:00:47 - 1:00:59]