Henry Cejudo is getting more serious about a comeback, according to Chael Sonnen.
Former UFC double-champ Henry Cejudo has been pushing for a return fight against Alexander Volkanovski. Over the last few weeks, “Triple C” has been pretty much badgering Dana White, which the UFC president repeatedly shut down.
From the outside looking in, it’s easy to dismiss Cejudo’s words as the usual statements from a prematurely-retired fighter. But according to someone with insider information like Chael Sonnen, these are serious plans.
Sonnen was with Cejudo during the weekend’s Eagle FC coverage and the two apparently had a conversation about the latter’s possible UFC return.
“Henry’s mind is getting pulled in a few different directions,” Sonnen said in a recent YouTube video he uploaded. “He’s not completely committed to one idea. But I have asked him point-blank. ‘Henry, for sure, are you coming back?’ He said yes, I said, ‘OK, I heard you talking about Sterling, and I heard you talking about Yan as recently as last week.’
“So I’m coming to the opinion that 135 is still in play. Now, that’s where things got weird, ‘cause he told me, ‘No.’ He said, ‘No, 145.’”
Just how serious is Cejudo? Sonnen says the 34-year-old already got himself back into the USADA testing pool.
“‘145, you’re coming back, you’ll go through the list?’ He said, ‘Chael, I’m in the USADA pool, I’m training twice a day, I’m ready to go, I want Volkanovski.’
“I could tell you that look in Henry’s eyes, he means this. This is real. For you, Cejudo fans out there, be happy. You’re getting your guy back.”
Cejudo last saw action at UFC 249 in 2020 when he successfully defended the 135-pound title against Dominick Cruz via second-round TKO. He retired with a record of 16-2 and a title defense apiece for flyweight and bantamweight.