Henry Cejudo believes Dominick Cruz was the obvious choice.
The UFC bantamweight champion says the lack of a clear No. 1 contender in the division, plus Cruz’s star power and status as arguably the greatest bantamweight of all-time made Cruz an easy pick for his title defense at 135 pounds on Saturday at UFC 249.
During a Tuesday media conference call promoting the fight, Cejudo (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) even said that he preferred Cruz as an opponent over the man he was originally scheduled to face – former UFC and WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
“Dominick was my first choice, since the beginning I wanted to fight (him),” Cejudo said. “I thought it was a great storyline – we’re both from Arizona, he’s a great champ, I beat the No. 1 contender Marlon Moraes, and there was really not a concrete No. 1 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, who was the No. 1 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 and that allowed Dominick Cruz to get back in. But he was always part of the plan and now we’re going to scrap.”
Cejudo says he’s on a “legacy rampage” and notes Cruz, who twice held the UFC title and also held WEC gold, as the perfect name to add to his list.
The Olympic gold medalist is coming off a TKO win over Moraes last June where he picked up the vacant bantamweight belt. Prior to that, Cejudo beat T.J. Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson in a pair of flyweight championship fights.
Although Cejudo has had a tough schedule, the bookings for both his cancelled bout with Aldo and his current fight with Cruz were criticized, as there are other contenders who many think are more deserving of the title shots, as they’re higher in the UFC official rankings, are coming off wins and not loses, and have been more active the weight class.
And while top contenders like Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan have been among the most vocal critics, Cejudo says they can wait in line.
“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.”
Henry Cejudo cites lack of 'concrete No. 1 contender' as reason to fight Dominick Cruz
