Former UFC champion Henry Cejudo calls out Sean O'Malley for a potential interim title fight on the UFC Perth card

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo is looking to face 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley in a potential interim UFC bantamweight title fight at UFC 284 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on February 12, 2023.

The "interim title" suggestion appears to be Cejudo's jibe at reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. Sterling is fresh-off a successful title defense, having beaten T.J. Dillashaw via second-round TKO at UFC 280 earlier this month.

Also at UFC 280, Sean O'Malley bested former bantamweight champion Petr Yan via split decision and is now the No. 1-ranked UFC bantamweight. In the aftermath of the event, 'Triple C' challenged Aljamain Sterling to a title fight.

Sterling shot down Cejudo's challenge and expressed interest in facing O'Malley instead. Not one to be outdone, Cejudo has since fired multiple shots at 'Funk Master,' whilst also turning his attention to O'Malley.

Henry Cejudo has consistently accused Aljamain Sterling of acting and feigning an injury in his DQ (Disqualification) win over Petr Yan in their first bantamweight title matchup in March 2021.

On that note, Henry Cejudo now appears to have compared 'Funk Master' to Hollywood actor Denzel Washington. Furthermore, taking to Twitter, Cejudo urged UFC president Dana White to book an interim UFC bantamweight title fight between himself and Sean O'Malley. Indicating that he'd like the fight to transpire at UFC 284 in the land 'down under', Cejudo wrote:

"Hey @danawhite since Denzel Sterling wants to work on his rap career [He can be called Lil Power] How about Me vs. Ronald MethDonald @SugaSeanMMA for a interim in Australia? I’m short so I’m used to being down under."

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'Sugar' Sean O'Malley gives his take on potential reason behind Henry Cejudo's return

Henry Cejudo's most recent fight was a second-round TKO win against Dominick Cruz in their UFC bantamweight title matchup in May 2020. Cejudo subsequently announced his retirement in the post-fight interview.

However, 'The Messenger' re-entered the USADA testing pool earlier this year and is expected to make his comeback soon. That said, Cejudo and O'Malley's next opponents and comeback dates are yet to be announced.

Speaking of which, Cejudo confronted Sean O'Malley backstage after the latter's fight against Pedro Munhoz in July of this year. In an edition of the Timbo Sugarshow podcast, O'Malley addressed the incident and insinuated that Cejudo constantly calls out several fighters simply to garner attention. Claiming that Cejudo's decided to return to the octagon to solve his financial issues, 'Sugar' said:

"I think he retired, wanted more money from the UFC, and the UFC's like, 'Alright.' Then he's calling everyone out. He's coming back. I think he's running out of money. Because he retired, he wanted more money."

Watch O'Malley's assessment below: