Cory Sandhagen doesn’t believe Henry Cejudo deserves an immediate title shot upon his return.
This past weekend, Sandhagen defeated Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Vegas 60, breaking his two-fight losing streak and keeping his name in the bantamweight title conversation. The conversation is quite full right now, though, as Petr Yan and Sean O’Malley, Merab Valishvili, Marlon Vera, and Merab Dvalishvili are all jockeying for next title shots. There’s a possibility that Cejudo will reclaim his belt. This creates a lot of confusion at the top 135-pounds. Sandhagen however, does not believe Cejudo should be included in it.
“What is he doing? I don’t know what the hell the guy is doing,” Sandhagen said on The MMA Hour. He’s going be a curveball forever, if that’s his choice.
“He’s been off for so long. The UFC would do this. They would not invest in someone who will probably just win the title once again. I don’t really see Henry as someone that can really build off of because I don’t think he’s going to stick around for long. I think he’s going to try to cherry-pick some fights, make another title fight, whether to make money or legacy — whatever his motivator is, I can’t really say — but I don’t really think he’s going to do it because he wants to stick around. He’s going to do it because — I don’t know why the hell he’s going to do it. I just don’t get it. He doesn’t seem to be staying .”
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Sandhagen’s worries aren’t without merit. Cejudo was criticized for winning his one title defense over Dominick Cruz, who hadn’t fought in more than three years. Some suggested that Cejudo was trying to avoid the growing number of bantamweight contenders. Those rumblings only increased during Cejudo’s retirement, as the former two-division champion repeatedly teased a return by trying to land a high-upside fight with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
This was a UFC decision that Cejudo had been denied. Dana White stated that Cejudo was now retired. Cejudo would have to fight in order to be eligible for a 145-pound title. She seemed wary about another Georges St.Pierre situation. White responded that Cejudo had officially resigned and entered the USADA testing pool this year. He will be eligible for competition in October. Sandhagen said that if Cejudo does return to competition, he would be delighted to have him back in the cage.
“That’s great too,” Sandhagen said. I’m okay with the fight. Although I don’t think about Henry as much as Henry, fighting Henry would be an amazing .”
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Sandhagen currently is the No. 4 ranked bantamweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, and previously challenged for the interim 135-pound title, losing a unanimous decision to Petr Yan at UFC 267.
Cejudo is the only person to have held titles in both UFC weight class simultaneously. He has won the bantamweight and flyweight titles throughout his career.
