"There are better guys in that division" - Stephen Thompson doesn't see Henry Cejudo beating Alexander Volkanovski

Stephen Thompson can't see Henry Cejudo having a huge amount of success should he return to the UFC to challenge for the featherweight title.

Cejudo has been once again calling for a shot at the 145-pound gold following the news that Max Holloway is out of his upcoming trilogy bout with current champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Cejudo retired from the sport of MMA in 2020 following his bantamweight title defense against Dominick Cruz. Since then, however, he has repeatedly hinted at a potential return to the sport, but at 145 pounds rather than bantamweight or flyweight.

Speaking on the 35th episode of his YouTube podcast, Stephen Thompson had the following to say about Cejudo's chances of success at featherweight:

"I don't see him beating Volkanovski but it'd be a fun fight. For sure... I feel like there's better guys in that division. Bigger guys, than Henry Cejudo... Volkanovski's gotta be taller... He's stronger. You're going up two weight classes dude."

Check out Stephen Thompson's full podcast episode below:

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Who else could step in to face Alexander Volkanovski other than Henry Cejudo?

Whilst Henry Cejudo may well be the fight with the most intrigue behind it, there have not been any reports so far indicating that he will be Alexander Volkanovski's next title defense.

UFC 266: Volkanovski v Ortega

Instead, it would appear that 'The Korean Zombie' Chan Sung Jung will be fighting for the belt.

Combat Sports journalist Ariel Helwani recently stated that Volkanovski vs. Jung is being targeted to join Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling 2 as the second title fight set for UFC 272 in March.

However, this has still not been confirmed and there are a number of other top ranked featherweights who have stated their interest in a bout with Volkanovski.

Josh Emmett is on a four-fight winning streak and recently posted the following tweet:

"Waiting on the call…"

Yair Rodriguez, who is coming off a close decision loss to Max Holloway, also threw his name into the hat. In a passionate and expletive-ridden callout, he made his feelings towards Volkanovski known.

Many have also called for Giga Chikadze to replace Holloway should he defeat Calvin Kattar this weekend. The pair are set to headline UFC Vegas 46, the first UFC event of 2022.