John McCarthy believes Henry Cejudo is Petr Yan's "worst matchup"
John McCarthy has asserted that Henry Cejudo is the worst matchup for current interim UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan.
In an edition of the Weighing In podcast, former MMA referee John McCarthy recalled the first loss of Petr Yan’s MMA career. ‘No Mercy’ was beaten via split decision after being outwrestled by Magomed Magomedov at ACB 32: The Battle of Lions in March 2016.
‘Big’ John noted that in their rematch at ACB 57: Payback in April 2017, Yan successfully neutralized Magomedov’s wrestling and won via unanimous decision. He suggested that Cejudo, a freestyle wrestling Olympic gold medalist, is a much better wrestler than Magomedov and the worst stylistic matchup for Yan. McCarthy stated:
“I saw everyone tell us on their thing saying, ‘Oh, Petr Yan would kill him [Henry Cejudo].’ Let me tell you something. That is Petr Yan’s worst matchup – a guy that could actually put him on his b**t and keep him on his b**t, okay? Look, I did Magomed Magomedov against Petr Yan, and I saw the very first one they had where Magomed won. And I did [officiate] their second one where Petr Yan won, and it was the difference of Magomed not being able to hold Petr Yan down, Petr Yan being able to get away from wrestling. And again, taking nothing away from Magomed; he’s not the wrestler that Henry Cejudo is, not even close.”
Watch John McCarthy address a possible Cejudo-Yan matchup in the video below:
Alexander Volkanovski on a potential UFC featherweight title defense against Henry Cejudo
Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo retired from MMA in May 2020. However, he has often hinted at returning to become a three-division UFC champion.
For several months, Cejudo has been lobbying for a fight against UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Meanwhile, Volkanovski, too, is open to fighting Cejudo. In an appearance on The Schmozone Podcast in 2021, ‘The Great’ said:
“This is two divisions heavier than where he is at... I've got power...you ain't gonna outwork me. You ain't gonna out strategize me. We've got a great team behind us as well. And then I've got all these other tools. I'll squash the germ. Where you at?”
Cejudo has recently been involved in a war of words with UFC president Dana White, who’s seemingly uninterested in booking him to fight Volkanovski for the 145-pound belt. Volkanovski is scheduled to defend his title against ‘The Korean Zombie’ at UFC 273 on April 9th.
Also at UFC 273, interim UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan will face UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in a rematch to determine the undisputed UFC bantamweight champion.
Alex Volkanovski vs. Chang Sung Jung for the 145 title is a done deal for UFC 273 on April 9.
Co-main is Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan for the 135 title.
Location TBD. Likely not Brooklyn.
New headliner for UFC 272 is Jorge Masvidal x Colby Covington. Verbal, not signed.