Dana White’s plan for newly-vacated UFC bantamweight title: ‘It’s Petr Yan and somebody’

Dana White’s plan for newly-vacated UFC bantamweight title: ‘It’s Petr Yan and somebody’

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With Henry Cejudo announcing his retirement in the center of the octagon at UFC 249, the UFC bantamweight title is set to become vacant, and UFC president Dana White plans on getting the belt back into circulation as swiftly as possible.

Cejudo successfully defended the 135-pound strap with a first-round finish of former champion Dominick Cruz in the night’s co-main event, then raised a few eyebrows by announcing his retirement during his post-fight interview.

White admitted he wasn’t expecting Cejudo to retire after his fight, but he did know “Triple C” had been considering it.

“He’s been talking about retirement to us for the past several months,” White he told reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. “I didn’t know he was going to do it tonight, but I knew he’s been talking about it. And you know my opinion on that. If you start talking about retirement in this business, it’s probably a good idea. Although, I think he’s one of the best in the world – he looked incredible.”

Cejudo’s announcement means the bantamweight title will be relinquished, and an opportunity will open up for two 135-pounders to do battle for the vacant belt.

Brazil’s Marlon Moraes and America’s Aljamain Sterling currently occupy the two top-ranked positions on both the official UFC and USA Today/MMA Junkie rankings. But at least one of those men looks set to miss out on the next title shot, with White stating that the man ranked immediately below them on both lists, Russia’s Petr Yan, will be involved in the next title fight.

“It’s Petr Yan and somebody,” said, White. “We’ll get that figured out, too. We’ll make a title fight next week for the vacant title and probably do that fight as soon as possible.”

Moraes (23-6-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC) is coming off a split-decision victory against Jose Aldo at UFC 245 that White himself said he thought Aldo should have won, while Yan (14-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is perfect in the UFC and dismantled octagon legend Urijah Faber in impressive fashion at the same event.

The pair were originally booked to face off at a UFC Fight Night event in Kazakhstan on June 13, but the advent of the coronavirus has thrown that event into doubt. That matchup could be rebooked for an event in the United States, or on Dana White’s now-infamous “Fight Island.” But Sterling (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC), who has won his last four fights, also has a strong claim for a title shot, and took to Twitter after UFC 249 to call for a title fight with Yan on Twitter.

“@danawhite you have two beasts, ready to put on (a) show for the vacant 135lb title,” Sterling wrote. “@PetrYanUFC I know you want this just as much as I do. I am ready whenever!”