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#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.
