"I will take your head off in front of your own people" - Henry Cejudo sends chilling threat to Alexander Volkanovski
Henry Cejudo is dead serious about fighting Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title. The former two-division UFC champion has called out 'The Great' on several occasions in the past and has now decided to step out of retirement, hoping to fight for the 145lbs title down the line.
After two years of retirement, Henry Cejudo will re-enter the USADA drug-testing pool Monday, his manager Ali Abdelaziz told @marc_raimondi.
Per the UFC's anti-doping policy, fighters re-entering the pool are typically tested for six months before being eligible to compete. https://t.co/L0X1UXBRaD
During a recent appearance on ESPN MMA's DC & RC podcast, Cejudo yet again reiterated his desire to fight the Australian. 'Triple-C' said he'd like to fight Volkanovski for the featherweight title in front of the latter's hometown crowd in Melbourne, Australia.
The former Olympic gold medalist urged Volkanovski and UFC president Dana White to book the matchup which he feels will sell out a stadium Down Under. Concluding his request with a chilling threat, Cejudo claimed he would take Volkanovski's 'head off' in front of his hometown crowd. He said:
"If you want to make money with Triple C man, if you want to give the fans a big fight man, I say we fight and we do it in Australia in front of 80,000 people. I know Israel Adesanya has a record right now when he fought Robert Whittaker but wouldn't be nothing like if me and you fought in Australia. I will literally go to your backyard and fight you in your backyard in front of 80,000 people with your record that will never be broken. You can fight this American boy and I promise you man, I will take your head off in front of your own people."
Watch Cejudo's appearance on the DC & RC podcast below:
Henry Cejudo explains why he believes ring rust won't be a factor in potential clash with Alexander Volkanovski
Here's Henry Cejudo's retirement speech with Joe Rogan post fight. Still can't quite believe this happened. #UFC249
https://t.co/ymDNVSf6Iq
Henry Cejudo has been out of action since announcing his retirement from MMA after beating Dominick Cruz back in 2020. It's been two years since and, during that time, Alexander Volkanovski has remained active, defending his title thrice against the likes of Max Holloway, Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung respectively.
Cejudo is aware that ring rust affects fighters but is still willing to make his return in a title fight in a division he's never competed in before. According to 'Triple C', although he has been retired for the past two years, he hasn't been out of touch with the sport.
Henry Cejudo pointed out that he trains regularly and helps fellow fighters prepare for their fights and that has kept him in good shape. He also said that his fight IQ is second to none and he believes he can beat Volkanovski despite having been away from the octagon all this while.
"[I believe I can beat Volkanovski despite not having fought recently] because of my IQ, my experience, the fact that I've stayed in the game. It's not like I've been away from the game, like I've been in the game...He's only a couple inches taller than me [and] it's a very winnable fight," Cejudo said.