Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Dana White doesn’t see Triple-C returning for a title shot anytime soon.
Last week UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski told theScore’s James Lynch that he would consider defending his crown versus self-proclaimed triple champ Henry Cejudo. However, UFC president Dana White seems less than keen on that idea.
Cejudo surprisingly announced his retirement from MMA after besting Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. The Australian said he would never have considered fighting the reigning flyweight and bantamweight champion Cejudo before he stepped away from the sport, since that would have caused the holding up of multiple divisions. “I think that’s shit,” he said.
However, if Cejudo returned to the featherweight division, Volkanovski believes no divisions would be held up if the two of them were to fight. Thanks to this, Volkanovski said, “I started maybe considering that fight if it was offered to me.”
The ‘retired’ Cejudo has said he would return to the Octagon for shot at featherweight gold. And during UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov, the former Olympic champion hinted at his 135 lbs ambitions when tweeting his appreciation for the bonus-winning fight between featherweights Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos.
Fight of the year candidate. Beautiful to see these two artists go to work in MY weight class #UFCVegas3
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) June 21, 2020
Fight of the year candidate. Beautiful to see these two artists go to work in MY weight class,” wrote Cejudo.
UFC president Dana White was asked about the potential of Cejudo walking back his retirement to take on Volkanovski. White didn’t want to entertain the idea.
“He’s retired,” Dana White said (ht MMA Fighting). “I just did another interview where people are asking me about other retired guys. These guys are retired. I’m not even thinking about any of those guys. They’re retired. There are so many kids right now that are here, that want to fight. Those are the people that I’m focused on.”
Volkanovski’s next title defense is set for UFC 251 in Yas Island, UAE. His opponent is former champ Max Holloway, whom Volkanovski dethroned back at UFC 245 last December. At this time of writing the top five of the featherweight rankings include Holloway, Brian Ortega, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Chan Sung Jung and Yair Rodriguez.