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Henry Cejudo was seemingly everywhere during International Fight Week, including backstage at UFC 276 where he challenged Sean O'Malley to a fight.
The former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion recently re-entered the USADA testing pool in anticipation of a comeback near the end of 2022. He called out a number of potential opponents while in Las Vegas, including Aljamain Sterling and Alexander Volkanovski. He also interrupted a BT Sport interview with Sean O'Malley to trash talk 'Sugar'.
Speaking on The Triple C & Schmo Show, Cejudo explained what prompted the incident. He said:
"First of all, his performance absolutely sucked. He talks a lot, if anyone talks. I'm proven ... I don't think I talk enough to be honest with you ... I just think he thinks he's better than he really is, and to me that's a problem, so I challenged him. I'm like 'What's up now, you ready?' He's like 'K-k-k,' I should start calling him stuttering Sean how he tripped over his own damn words. But anyways, he doesn't want this smoke, that would be the worst. It would be like Jake Paul facing Jon Jones. I would eat that dude alive."
Watch Henry Cejudo talk about his UFC 276 callout of Sean O'Malley below:
It's unclear exactly when Henry Cejudo re-entered the USADA testing pool, but if he did it immediately after UFC 273 as he claimed, 'Triple C' would be eligible to fight by mid-October.
If the UFC doesn't intend to run back O'Malley vs. Munhoz, the timeline could work out for O'Malley vs. Cejudo.
Henry Cejudo shoves Aljamain Sterling, courts Alexander Volkanovski in quest for a title shot
Henry Cejudo is on a quest for gold, and he doesn't particularly care which belt he ends up fighting for. The former champ-champ posted footage of a confrontation with Aljamain Sterling at the UFC Fan Expo that ended with Cejudo shoving the bantamweight champion and security stepping in.
At UFC 276, Cejudo encountered Alexander Volkanovski following his dominant win over Max Holloway and asked for a featherweight title shot. He told Volkanovski:
"This is all competition, man. If an Olympic gold medal to UFC belt ain't enough, man. I just wanna compete, Alexander. As a competitor, I respect it. Congratulations on number 1. I just wanna know how far that I can take it. And I always wanted to challenge you."
Unfortunately for Cejudo, the UFC doesn't seem interested in giving him an immediate title shot upon his return. He'll have to fight his way back up to the top at bantamweight or featherweight, whichever division he decides.
