Petr Yan: If Henry Cejudo was confident he could clear out the division, he wouldn’t retire right now

Petr Yan thinks former UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo walked away to avoid facing the top contenders.

Cejudo announced his retirement after finishing Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 and relinquished his 135-pound title. As a result, the UFC booked Yan (14-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) vs. Jose Aldo for the vacant title at UFC 251 on July 11.

Aldo, who was initially scheduled to challenge Cejudo on May 9 in Brazil, was forced out of the bout due to the travel ban restrictions during COVID-19 and replaced by Cruz.

With the title now vacant, the UFC decided to go with Yan vs. Aldo, and Yan thinks Cejudo is the cause for the logjam at 135 pounds.

“Henry didn’t want to fight No. 1 contenders like me or (Aljamain) Sterling,” Yan told MMA Junkie through an interpreter. “He even said it’s his fault Aldo is fighting for the title and it should’ve been me vs. Aljamain. So he admitted himself (that) he wanted to fight someone who didn’t deserve to fight for the belt.”

For Yan, it was never anything personal against Cejudo. He continuously expressed his frustration towards Cejudo‘s choice of opponents, but the goal was always to become champion.

“I don’t hate the guy and I’m not disappointed I won’t get to fight him, because my goal is to win the belt, and not to fight Cejudo,” Yan said. “The division is booming right now and he retired without facing top contenders. If he had confidence he could clear out the division, he wouldn’t retire right now.”