While there is still no telling which of his two titles Henry Cejudo will defend next after becoming champ-champ last Saturday night (June 8, 2019) with his win over Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 (see it), the line of challengers is already forming at Bantamweight.
Aside from Petr Yan wanting a piece of “The Messenger,” Aljamain Sterling is calling for dibs after his dominant win over Pedro Munhoz, which also took place at UFC 238 in Chicago, Illinois. According to “The Funkmaster,” once he beats Henry, the pound-for-pound king title goes to him, as well.
“I possess all the talent in the world to compete with Henry. He is a tough dude and I do think he is the greatest pound-for-pound combat athlete out here today,” said Sterling on The MMA Hour.
“No one has been able to do what he’s done and what he’s accomplished. But I will say this; when I beat Henry Ce-doo-doo, what does that make me? The pound-for-pound king. So that’s what I am looking to do, looking to get my next title. So, go out there beat Henry and take that title,” he added.
“I am too long and I can box, kick, wrestle, I can do jiu-jitsu. Where does he win? He is going to have to try and catch me. I like my chances in that one.”
After his historic win at UFC 238, Cejudo called out a bevy of former champions and legends, though failed to mention Aljamain on the list. For “Funkmaster,” Henry wanting to face aging veterans such as Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber — who haven’t competed in a while — instead of young and hungry title contenders is laughable.
“You want to fight guys who haven’t won a fight in God knows how long. I don’t know if he is scared, I can’t call him scared because he has fought some of the scariest men our weight classes in history,” he said.
“But you are calling out guys who haven’t won a fight in three years, coming out of retirement, over 40 when you got hungry competitors who are well-deserving of a shot. I think there is something wrong with that.”
Yan agrees with you, Funk.
For now, Sterling will have to heal up before he can get back into action, as he revealed he suffered ligament damage in his left thumb, which could potentially require a minor surgery that will keep him out for just four weeks.