Henry Cejudo says he’s fighting Dominick Cruz because there’s ‘not a concrete number one contender’
Henry Cejudo says Dominick Cruz is getting the bantamweight title shot at UFC 249 because there’s isn’t a clear-cut number one contender at bantamweight.
Although many fans and fighters were mad Cruz was getting the shot as many thought Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan, or Cory Sandhagen deserve it. But, according to “Triple C” he doesn’t view them as title contenders.
“Dominick was my first choice, since the beginning I wanted to fight [him],” Cejudo said on the UFC 249 conference call (h/t MMAJunkie). “I thought it was a great storyline. We’re both from Arizona, he’s a great champ. I beat the number one contender Marlon Moraes. There was really not a concrete number one contender after I beat Moraes.
“My original plan was to fight him. But, then I saw the fact that Jose Aldo did a good job with Marlon Moraes. [He] was the number one contender. I went with Aldo. But, I told Dominick, Dominick should stay on the lines because if anything happens, you’re the guy that I want next. And it just turned out to be that Jose Aldo couldn’t get a visa. That allowed Dominick Cruz to get back in. But he was always part of the plan and now we’re going to scrap.”
Why he believes Yan and Sterling don’t deserve the title shot is simple.
“Wait for their chance, wait for the king to tell them to bend the knee,” Cejudo said. “Aljamain Sterling got knocked out by a guy that I knocked out, so wait in line. And Peter Yan needs to learn better English. He absolutely sucks and you can’t beat a 41-year-old and expect a title shot. That’s just ridiculous. I rather fight someone who hasn’t fight in four years.”
So, Henry Cejudo says after he beats Dominick Cruz he’ll fight Jose Aldo. He’ll then move up to featherweight to fight Alexander Volkanovski.
