"He got real serious" - Chael Sonnen reveals how Henry Cejudo reacted when asked if he legitimately wants to fight Alexander Volkanovski
Chael Sonnen has been skeptical of Henry Cejudo's challenge to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Now, 'Triple C' has confirmed to Sonnen that he is serious about asking Dana White for a title shot against Volkanovski.
Speaking on his YouTube show Beyond the Fight, former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen said he recently met Henry Cejudo to discuss the latter's return to the octagon.
"I saw Henry over the weekend, face-to-face, private. I said Henry I'm taking your callout of Volkanovski sincerely. I have told my audience that I know the king of cringe, I know triple C and I know Henry Cejudo. That callout was done by Henry Cejudo. Am I a fool? He said: 'uncle Chael, you're not at all. That is the match.' He got real serious."
Sonnen also claimed that Cejudo was ready to take up the fight with 'The Great' regardless of the money the UFC was going to offer. The former flyweight and bantamweight titleholder has apparently already studied the current king of 145-pounders.
"You guys just got to trust me on this... He began to break it down. He was extremely complimentary of Volkanovski... He identified what it is Volk does so well. Then he offered what he believes he can do to counter that, that would lead him to a victory. I said Henry I'm going to keep telling people this but I need to be right... He said yes. He said I will never bring up money with the UFC if they give me this opportunity," he added.
Watch Chael Sonnen speak about Henry Cejudo below:
Alexander Volkanovski is 23-1 so far in his MMA career. The 33-year-old Australian star is unbeaten in his last 20 fights.
Henry Cejudo announced his retirement from MMA in May last year
Henry Cejudo hung up his boots after successfully defending the bantamweight championship against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020.
With that victory, Cejudo became only the second champion after Daniel Cormier to defend titles in two different weight classes in the UFC.
C4?
Who's down to see @HenryCejudo return and challenge @alexvolkanovski for the featherweight gold? 👀 https://t.co/xbASV1qIiP
Henry Cejudo won the flyweight belt from Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227 in August 2018. He successfully defended it when he took on T.J. Dillashaw in January 2019.
That same year, Cejudo went on to beat Marlon Moraes to claim the vacant bantamweight title. He now intends to become the first ever triple champ in UFC history.