Henry Cejudo will apparently get his wish of returning to flyweight.
A bout between the top prospect and Chris Cariaso is targeted for UFC 185 in Dallas on March 14, sources confirmed with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani. Mexican outlet Indiscutido was the first to report the booking.
Cejudo (7-0), a former Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, moved up to bantamweight last year after repeatedly failing to make 125 in both the UFC and Legacy FC. Cejudo, 27, defeated Dustin Kimura by dominant unanimous decision at UFC on FOX: Dos Santos vs. Miocic in December in his UFC debut. The California native asked UFC president Dana White in the post-fight press conference if he could move back down to flyweight and White agreed.
Cariaso (17-6) will be the toughest test of Cejudo’s MMA career by far. The 33-year-old is coming off a loss to Demetrious Johnson in a flyweight title fight at UFC 178 in September. Before that, the California native had won three straight and was ranked in the top 10 among 125-pounders in the UFC.
UFC 185 will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos. Alistair Overeem vs. Roy Nelson has also been announced for the card, which takes place at American Airlines Center.