Former UFC double-champ Henry Cejudo has petitioned Dana White to allow him to return to the UFC to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for his featherweight world title.
Former Olympic champion Cejudo stepped away from the sport last year shortly after defending his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz, citing a pay impasse with the UFC as his primary reason for doing so. However, it would seem that Cejudo still craves competition — and has asked Dana White for the opportunity to take on 145-pound champ Volkanovski who defended his title last weekend against Brian Ortega.
“Alexander the Average, this overgrown midget,” Cejudo said to TMZ Sports.“This is the thing, it’s not even a challenge against this ugly face. It’s really a challenge against Dana White. How are you gonna doubt an Olympic champ, dude? Olympic champ, how are you gonna doubt a flyweight champ and a two-division champ in the UFC? It’s crazy. Anybody that would doubt me is freaking crazy. Let me go up, man.
“Not only do I believe that I can beat him, I know I can stop him. As much as I saw good things from Volkanovski, there are still a lot of holes. I believe my height would be problem for him, because he is a couple inches taller than me. My speed, my wrestling, my experience, I’ve been in there against the best. Okay, Alexander the Average had a great performance, it was a great fight, I just believe that I have the ‘it’ factor to beat this dude. Not only to beat this dude, but to stop him.”
And Cejudo says that Dana White is the man who can make this piece of history a reality.
“Allow me to make history. If he’s that good, allow him to shut me up. Dana White, if you’re listening, this is a real message. Forget the cringe, forget the persona, this is straight up me: I am the greatest combat athlete of all time and I promise you, if you give me the opportunity, I will knock this dude out in no less than three rounds.”
Cejudo added that his current walking weight of 165-pounds essentially makes him a featherweight and an ideal foil to the current champion, given his history as a two-weight champion and Olympic gold winner — but he says that he craves one more piece of gold to add to his collection.
“I’m 165-pounds, believe it or not. 145 would fit me perfect,” Cejudo stated. “Again, if anybody doubts this mind, if you think I won the Olympics because I got lucky or the two belts, hate the cringe, whatever the hell, but I’m a freaking competitor and I just want a challenge. I want a shot at legacy. I want a shot to be the first UFC triple champ, to win three belts on top of my Olympic gold medal. That’s it.”
