LAS VEGAS – UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is not ruling out Henry Cejudo for his next title defense.
Following his dominant win over Max Holloway this past Saturday at UFC 276, Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) was met and challenged by Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) backstage at T-Mobile Arena.
Volkanovski never really entertained Cejudo’s callouts in the past but with “Triple C” back in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency drug testing pool and Volkanovski clearing out the majority of the division, the champion is now considering him as an option.
“He just said he wants to challenge me,” Volkanovski told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “He thinks he’s got what it takes. Man, I need challenges, right? But they need to be big fights, and if people scream for it, we’ll see. You can never say never. Obviously he’s done some great things, and he’s got some work to do, but I think it could make a big fight, but I don’t even know what’s going on.”
Cejudo, a former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion, is dead set on capturing a third title after deciding to come out of retirement. Although Cejudo would be competing at 145 pounds for the first time in his career, Volkanovski lauds his skills and sees him as a worthy challenger.
“Look, I respect the guy,” Volkanovski added. “He can fight. Olympic wrestler, two-division champion, it’s impressive, so we’ll see what happens. But obviously right now, we gotta wait and see.”
Alexander Volkanovski: Henry Cejudo could make for a big fight ‘if people scream for it’