“You lost your juice man, you lost your juice, you lost to me. I’m your next fight and everybody knows that.”
Be careful what you wish for, T.J. Dillashaw.
After Henry Cejudo’s stunning 32-second TKO stoppage against Dillashaw at UFC Fight Night 143, ‘The Messenger’ has already agreed to a rematch against the reigning bantamweight champion.
Dillashaw, who dropped down to the flyweight division in hopes of becoming the UFC’s next ‘champ-champ’, is absolutely livid with Saturday’s result and has been campaigning hard for a rematch.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani in a recent interview, Cejudo said Dillashaw has no option but to accept an immediate rematch due to his ‘stock’ taking a massive hit at the weekend.
“You lost your juice man, you lost your juice, you lost to me. I’m your next fight and everybody knows that. Unless you avenge your loss to me, your stock market went down,” Cejudo said on The Ariel Helwani MMA Show, per MMA Mania’s Adam Guillen Jr.
Cejudo, the reigning flyweight king, now has his own opportunity to move up in weight to become the next two-division champ – but under one condition.
The Olympic gold medallist is willing to challenge Dillashaw at 135-pounds if — and only if — the UFC guarantees the safety of the flyweight division.
“It’s legacy, that’s all there is to it,” Cejudo continued. “The only reason I would do this is making sure the 125 pound belt is secure for all of us. Not just for me, for all of us. I got to really sit down with Dana because I do not know what’s going on,” he added, while saying he also has no qualms in running it back at 125 pounds.
“I promise I will go to (135), or we can do it again at 125, I don’t have a problem with that. TJ, if you want your rematch, you got it man.”
With the ball now in his court, Cejudo firmly believes he is the UFC’s new ‘cash cow.’
“I’m the cash cow now, man, it’s the Cejudo way. Everybody wants a piece of me, everybody is coming out of the wood-works. I got a huge target on my back. But you know what, I’m going to embrace that and everybody is on notice. Flyweights and bantamweights. We don’t know what the history of the flyweights holds for us, but I’ll tell you one thing, I am going to continue to fight. I’m going to meet with uncle Dana and we will take it from there,” he said.
Expect Cejudo to surge up the pound-for-pound list once the UFC updates its official rankings.