Former two-division UFC Champion Henry Cejudo is frustrated that he didn’t get the call to face Alexander Volkanovski.
Numerous names floated around earlier this week after Max Holloway pulled out of his title bout against UFC Featherweight Champion Alex Volkanovski. One of the many was Cejudo, who said he would come out of retirement for the bout.
The Korean Zombie has since been selected to fight Volkanovski. Cejudo voiced his displeasure in this outcome in a recent interview with MMA Junkie. Part of his anger in the situation comes from how he doesn’t think he would get his fair slice of the profit from a fight.
“I would be known as C4,” said Cejudo, mentioning a nickname that implies the four championships he has earned between MMA and wrestling. “But you also have to compensate because I’m the person who’s going to sell the fight. I’m the person who is going to make it entertaining, you know? So yeah, I do want my cake and eat it too. I really do. But I also really do deserve it. If I don’t get it, guys, it’s OK. You guys want me to show you my trophy case once again? It’s OK. I got enough of it. Demetrious Johnson’s record was going to be broken. Somebody better than Jon Jones will come.”
Cejudo: UFC Wants To Pay Me ‘Peanuts’
It’s not all about Cejudo, though. He later mentioned how he feels the promotion has large issues about properly paying their fighters as a whole.
“They don’t want to pay, man,” Cejudo said. “It’s plain and simple. They don’t want to pay. Dana [White] doesn’t want to pay. [If] they pay me, they got to pay the rest. And I’m out here. I’m not here to say to start a union. What I’m here to say is like, ‘Hey, man, everybody should be compensated individually.’ The guys are going to sell the fight, the guys that that are proven, like me. You know what I’m saying? So that’s plain and simple. Dana [White] would love to see the fight, but he wants to pay me peanuts in comparison to what I really deserve. I respect the man because it’s his business, what he’s able to do to take this company to a two-billion-dollar company to what it’s worth now seven [to] nine billion and I can’t get a raise. That just seems a little off to me, man.”
Cejudo went on to mention how fighters who don’t necessarily do the best in the cage are some of the more financially successful competitors. He feels that the promotion should be paying their actual champions more,
“If Conor McGregor is making money and getting paid, and Jorge Masvidal. They’re doing what they’re doing and they’re getting paid more than me and I got two belts and I’m doing the exact same shit and I’m not getting compensated, then you know what? F*** you, too.”
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Cejudo Says UFC Wouldn’t Offer Enough For Him To Fight Volkanovski