"I disagree with all these people that love seeing a cartwheel" - Henry Cejudo upset at Israel Adesanya's pound-for-pound ranking

Henry Cejudo (left) and Israel Adesanya (right) [Images via @henry_cejudo and @stylebender on Instagram]

Despite putting his fighting career on hold, Henry Cejudo is undoubtedly in tune with the current landscape of the UFC. In the aftermath of UFC 273, where Alexander Volkanovski defended his featherweight title yet again, Cejudo slammed the current pecking order in the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings.

During the most recent edition of The Triple C & Schmo Show, Cejudo and his co-host discussed the matter. The former two-division champion had this to say about Israel Adesanya’s placement in the rankings:

“I don’t know what they have enough but Alexander Volkanowski should be [number] two. But it’s a popularity thing. If you’re popular, you can dance dude, they will freaking put you [in] pound-for-pound. If you have a loss, dude, you should not be [in] top two."

Cejudo made it pretty clear why he favors Volkanovski over Adesanya being second in the pound-for-pound rankings:

"It should always be top one and two challenging. Because they’re both undefeated. Nobody has lost [to] him in the UFC. So I disagree with all these people that love seeing a cartwheel. I don’t get it. Volkanovski’s number two."

Watch Henry Cejudo discuss the UFC pound-for-pound rankings below:

Israel Adesanya last fought at UFC 271 back in February. ‘The Last Stylebender’ defeated Robert Whittaker to successfully defend the UFC middleweight championship for the fourth time.

The Kiwi's professional record currently stands at 22-1 and he has never tasted defeat at 185 pounds. He unsuccessfully challenged then-light heavyweight champion Jan Błachowicz at UFC 259 last year. He lost that fight via unanimous decision.

Alexander Volkanovski successfully defended his featherweight strap for the third time at the recently concluded UFC 273 pay-per-view. He defeated Chan Sung Jung a.k.a 'The Korean Zombie' via TKO in the fourth frame after dominating him for three whole rounds.

Volkanovski boasts a professional record of 24-1, with the sole blemish on his record taking place on the Australian regional circuit back in 2013. He’s currently undefeated in the UFC.

View this post on Instagram

Instagram Post

Henry Cejudo says he will choke out Alexander Volkanovski "quicker than a McGregor relapse" upon return

It appears as though Alexander Volkanovski’s performance at UFC 273 inspired Henry Cejudo to make his comeback. ‘Triple C’ hinted at a return to the octagon on Twitter following Volkanovski's recent victory, while taking a jab at Conor McGregor. Below is what he posted on Twitter:

“@alexvolkanovski you’ve inspired me to come back. When it comes to wrestling…you couldn’t pin a tweet. I would take you down and choke you out quicker than a McGregor relapse. Sign the contract.”

@alexvolkanovski you’ve inspired me to come back. When it comes to wrestling…you couldn’t pin a tweet. I would take you down and choke you out quicker than a McGregor relapse. Sign the contract. twitter.com/espnmma/status…

This was confirmed by Cejudo’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz. ESPN reporter Marc Raimondi broke the news on Twitter, revealing that the former two-division champion will re-enter the USADA drug-testing pool.

Former UFC double champ Henry Cejudo will re-enter the USADA drug-testing pool Monday, per his manager @AliAbdelaziz00. That will pave the way for his return to UFC competition. Full story for @espnmma: espn.com/mma/story/_/id…

Henry Cejudo surprisingly announced his retirement during his post-fight interview after defeating Dominick Cruz to retain the bantamweight title at UFC 249 back in May 2020. ‘Triple C’ was riding a six-fight winning streak prior to hanging up his gloves.