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After more than two years out of action, it looks like former UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo will be making a return to the octagon in the near future.
Despite suggesting that he wanted to return as a featherweight, Henry Cejudo appears to be ready to step back into the bantamweight division. So. who should welcome him back?
Thankfully, there are plenty of potential opponents out there at 135 pounds for ‘Triple C’. Whoever the UFC decides to match him with, the fans should expect fireworks.
Here are five potential opponents for Cejudo at bantamweight.
#5. Henry Cejudo vs. Petr Yan
If the UFC decides not to give Henry Cejudo a shot at the bantamweight title upon his return to action, then they could do a lot worse than to match him with the man who claimed the title in his absence, former champion Petr Yan.
Yan is coming off a tight loss to current champion Aljamain Sterling, but many observers felt that he deserved the nod in that bout. In truth, had he not knocked Sterling out with an illegal knee in their first clash, he may well still be holding the title now.
More interestingly, there’s a ready-made grudge of sorts between ‘No Mercy’ and ‘Triple C’. That's based around the fact that when Cejudo was holding the bantamweight title, he was accused of avoiding a fight with Yan, preferring to face Dominick Cruz rather than the Russian despite his impressive record.
Even if there wasn’t bad blood between the two, this would be a genuinely excellent bout, pitting an expert wrestler in Cejudo against a remarkably dangerous striker in Yan. Based on the strengths of both men, it’d be a near-impossible fight to pick a winner in.
Add in the fact that a win for either man would almost certainly propel them right into a title shot, and it’d be a high-risk, high-reward bout for both Cejudo and Yan, and would be an easy Fight Night headliner for the UFC.
#4. Henry Cejudo vs. Cory Sandhagen
One fighter who seems to have been forgotten in terms of the UFC’s bantamweight title picture right now is Cory Sandhagen. After his wins over Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar, he was arguably the hottest 135lber in the promotion. However, his losses to Petr Yan and T.J. Dillashaw seem to have shunted him down the ladder somewhat.
However, ‘The Sandman’ is undoubtedly still one of the best bantamweights on the planet. He carries knockout power, can seemingly land strikes from anywhere to take out his opponents, and he’s underrated on the ground, too.
With that considered, could Sandhagen make a good opponent for Henry Cejudo upon his return to the octagon? Almost definitely.
Despite his last two losses, Sandhagen hasn’t fallen too far down the rankings, as he’s still sitting at No.4. That means that a win over him would still mean a huge deal for ‘Triple C’, especially as he hasn’t fought since 2020.
However, if Cejudo wants a safer fight of sorts to return to action with, this could be the most logical move. Sandhagen is a fantastic fighter, but as Aljamain Sterling showed, he can be vulnerable if he’s taken down. Cejudo would definitely be confident of doing that.
Therefore, if ‘Triple C’ is looking for a fight that he might consider a tune-up of sorts, this clash could be the one for him.
#3. Henry Cejudo vs. Jose Aldo
Prior to his sudden retirement in 2020, the fight that was being talked up by the UFC for Henry Cejudo’s second bantamweight title defense was one against former featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo.
The fight didn’t make a lot of sense at the time, as Aldo had been defeated by Marlon Moraes in his debut at 135 pounds and looked past his best. In the two years that have followed, a lot has changed for the Brazilian.
Sure, he fell to Petr Yan in his eventual bantamweight title fight, but since then, he’s defeated three opponents in a row, beating Marlon Vera, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font. More to the point, Aldo has looked back to his best in those fights, seemingly adjusting to life at 135 pounds perfectly.
Given that he’s now ranked at No.3 in the division, a fight with the returning ‘Triple C’ might make a lot of sense, both from the UFC’s perspective and from Cejudo’s.
From a promotional perspective, Aldo would be the next best opponent for Cejudo outside of giving him an instant title shot. It’d probably make for a pretty fantastic fight, too.
From Cejudo’s point of view, it’s clear that he wanted this fight in 2020, so it’s unlikely that things have changed since. More importantly, it’d give ‘Triple C’ a chance to knock off another UFC legend, allowing him to add to his list of lofty accomplishments.
Overall, the UFC could easily headline a Fight Night or even a pay-per-view event with this bout, and it’d definitely pique the interest of the fans.
#2. Henry Cejudo vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Although his UFC flyweight title win over Demetrious Johnson granted Henry Cejudo his first taste of gold inside the octagon, it was his 2019 knockout of then-bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw in a superfight of sorts that turned him into a genuine superstar.
Despite Dillashaw promising to get rid of the flyweight division for good, it didn’t take Cejudo long at all to take him out. He finished him off with a salvo of strikes after just 32 seconds.
However, the bout did come with a couple of caveats, as Dillashaw had clearly drained himself to make the 125-pound flyweight limit and claimed he wasn’t close to being at his best. With that in mind, why not run the fight back at 135 pounds?
Not only would it allow Dillashaw a chance to avenge the worst loss of his career, but it’d also give Cejudo a huge opportunity, too. If ‘Triple C’ could knock off Dillashaw at bantamweight, there’d be no way that anyone could dispute the idea of him being the better fighter.
Add in the fact that Cejudo would have plenty of ammunition for pre-fight trash talk thanks to Dillashaw’s positive drug test in the aftermath of their initial clash, and this would definitely be a fun fight to make. It could decide the next title challenger, too.
#1. Henry Cejudo vs. Aljamain Sterling
Naturally, the most logical fight for Henry Cejudo upon his return to the UFC would be a clash with current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, allowing ‘Triple C’ a chance to regain the title that he never lost inside the octagon.
Basically, the fight almost makes too much sense not to book. Sterling is coming off his two wins over Petr Yan, but to many fans, he still doesn’t seem like a legitimate champion. A win over Cejudo, though, would mean that nobody could ever doubt ‘Funk Master’ again.
Cejudo, meanwhile, never actually lost his title in a fight. So it’d only be fair to allow him a chance at regaining it without having to fight another opponent in the interim. As one of the most accomplished fighters in UFC history, he almost certainly deserves it.
Add in the fact that the clash of styles between the two – pitting the world-class wrestling and striking power of Cejudo against the unorthodox stand-up and excellent submission skills of Sterling – would make for a fascinating fight, and this would be an easy sell for the promotion.
Essentially, the UFC should look to book this fight as soon as they can – perhaps even headlining a pay-per-view in the latter part of 2022 with it. It could even go down as one of the biggest bantamweight title bouts in history.
