Matt Brown still believes Henry Cejudo is the best bantamweight in the world.
Matt Brown believes Henry Cejudo will reclaim his bantamweight title in 2023.
“The Messenger” will return to the Octagon after a two-year layoff to challenge Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight championship, with the matchup expected to take place in March, possibly at UFC 285.
During a recent appearance on The Fighter vs. The Writer, “The Immortal” stated that he thinks Cejudo will beat Sterling “relatively easily”, citing Cejudo’s superior boxing and wrestling skills as the main reason for his prediction.
“I think Cejudo beats Aljamain pretty soundly,” Brown stated “I think [Cejudo’s] got tremendous boxing, amazing wrestling. I don’t think Aljamain’s going to be able to get him down. I think he’s just got better boxing, better standup. He’s very disciplined with his standup. He stays tight and strong.
“I’m going to go with Cejudo on that. I think he beats him relatively easily. Cejudo, I’m picking very soundly to win that fight [against Sterling].”
As for Sean O’Malley, Brown believes “Sugar” would be out of his depth in a potential title fight and that Cejudo absolutely “destroys” him in the Octagon.
“If we’re talking about champion at the end of the year, I’m going to go with Cejudo,” Brown said. “He beats Aljamain and he destroys Sean O’Malley.”
O’Malley earned a bantamweight title shot with a hard-fought split decision victory over Petr Yan at UFC 280. He is expected to take on the winner of Sterling vs. Cejudo in the coming year, although nothing has been made official.