If he was a free agent, we'll sign him in a second - Scott Coker claims that Bellator is unfortunate that Henry Cejudo is still under UFC contractÂ
Scott Coker recently revealed that Bellator MMA would have signed Henry Cejudo if he was not contractually tied to the UFC.
The Bellator CEO praised 'The Messenger' for his career accomplishments. He added that they would put Cejudo right at the top of the foodchain if the former two-division UFC champion joined the promotion. However, the Olympic gold medallist is still under contract with the UFC.
Here's what Coker said about Cejudo while talking to 'The Schmo':
"Listen, if Henry was a free agent, because we can't talk hypotheticals about people that are under contract. But let's say there was a fighter, who with that type of wrestling, you know the gold medals and he was that good of an MMA fighter. If he was a free agent and he was able to come over here, we would sign him in a second and we'd put him right to the test. Because he's already done it all, right? What has he not done? The guy's still a beast. He's a killer. And unfortunately, he's still in the contract [with the UFC]. So, that's what it is."
Watch Scott Coker talk about Henry Cejudo below:
As of now, Coker's focus is on the Bellator 277 event that is set to go down this weekend. AJ McKee will defend his featherweight title for the first time against former champion Patricio Freire in a rematch. The co-main event will see the culmination of the light heavyweight Grand Prix as champion Vadim Nemkov fights Corey Anderson.
Will Henry Cejudo make a return to the UFC?
Henry Cejudo retired after his win against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. However, 'The Messenger' has been teasing a return to competition for a while now. He has called out featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski on several occasions.
Cejudo also had an exchange with Aljamain Sterling recently after the bantamweight champion successfully defended his title against Petr Yan at UFC 273.
The former two-division champion has re-entered the USADA testing pool.
It will be interesting to see if the 35-year-old eventually makes a return to the UFC. Cejudo is one of the most decorated combat athletes of all time. His return will add a new layer of excitement to the bantamweight division. Furthermore, there is the opportunity for him to become the first-ever three-division UFC champion by capturing the featherweight title.