Henry Cejudo will only be lured out of retirement if he can add more gold to his collection.
Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), the former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion, announced his retirement in May after defending his 135-pound title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.
With an Olympic gold medal in wrestling and UFC title defenses in both divisions, Cejudo has separated himself from the pack with his combat sports accolades. Although he’s still in his prime, Cejudo isn’t interested in returning to the octagon for just any fight. If he were to make a comeback, he wants it to mean something to his legacy, and that would be to fight for a third UFC belt.
“I feel like me winning a third belt in the UFC would cement me as the greatest fighter of all time in the sport of mixed martial arts, because nobody will be able to do that but ‘Triple C,'” Cejudo told self-proclaimed “street journalist” Adam Glyn.
No fighter in history has won three UFC titles, and Cejudo thinks he can become the first man to do it. He’s already called out featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and, although he thinks Max Holloway did enough to earn the decision in their UFC 251 co-main event, he’s happy Volkanovski is still champion.
“I thought Holloway probably won that fight,” Cejudo said. “… Holloway won, man. It’s unfortunate. I was going for Volkanovski because I think it’s just a better matchup for me. He’s only about 2 inches taller than me, so I feel like he’d be a better matchup for me if we were to ever fight – if he wasn’t so scared and not scared to sign the damn contract.”
