Jussier Formiga believes Henry Cejudo will be back at flyweight because ‘135 is full of tough fighters’
Flyweight contender, Jussier Formiga believes Henry Cejudo will return to flyweight soon.
Cejudo vacated the flyweight title to focus on defending the bantamweight title, which he’ll do in the main event of UFC 250 against Jose Aldo. For Formiga, who is a top flyweight contender, he was glad Cejudo finally vacated the belt as it will add more eyes to the division.
“Him being stripped of the 125-pound belt was great, because the division can finally move on now,” Formiga told MMA Fighting. “We’ll have more eyeballs on us, [and] we’re gonna have more contenders available to fight for the title.
“Cejudo won two belts and had that shoulder surgery, but no one knew where he would fight next. It always felt like he was aiming more at bantamweights, [and] he never mentioned [Joseph] Benavidez, or any other flyweight. So he had other plans. He’s the bantamweight champion now and has to do whatever it takes to defend that belt.”
Although Jussier Formiga is happy Henry Cejudo vacated the belt, he expects “Triple C” to return to the division once bantamweight goes south. The Brazilian knows how tough the division is at bantamweight and is unsure how Cejudo will fare up there.
“He kept talking about wanting a big fight, calling for [Jose] Aldo, and he forgot his roots, [and] the flyweight division where he won his first title,” Formiga said. “I think he might decide to come back down in the future, because 135 is full of tough fighters. I don’t know how he’ll do there. Let’s see what happens.”
In the end, Jussier Formiga is routing for Deiveson Figueiredo to beat Joseph Benavidez. He says it will be good that another Brazilian can become the flyweight champ. Regardless, Formiga says he’ll be next in line and will win the belt next anyways.
“I’ll probably be the next contender,” Formiga said. “A great performance will show I’m ready to become the next flyweight title contender. My camp is entirely focused on that, not only winning but also making a statement.”
