Brandon Moreno calls out Henry Cejudo for non-title UFC bantamweight bout; Cejudo responds

Brandon Moreno wants a piece of Henry Cejudo.

The UFC flyweight champion is hoping to lock horns with Cejudo before he retires from MMA. Moreno, who’s got a title defense booked against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290 on July 8, posted on Instagram following UFC 288 to call out Cejudo:

“Henry Cejudo don’t retire yet, please wait for me,” Moreno wrote. “I’m going to win my fight in July and then we can finish business. Main event in Mexico City. I go to 135 lbs, f*ck belts, just you and me in the octagon!!”

Brandon Moreno calls out Henry Cejudo for a non-title bantamweight bout.

“Fuck the belts. Just me and you in the octagon.” #UFC288 pic.twitter.com/biqZFoqTsx

— Danny Segura (@dannyseguratv) May 7, 2023

Cejudo returned to MMA competition Saturday after retiring from the sport in 2020. He lost a competitive split decision to UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in the main event of UFC 288 in New Jersey.

Following the defeat, “Triple C” hinted at potentially retiring again from fighting. He’s unsure what his next move will be.

When asked about Moreno’s callout at the UFC 288 post-fight press conference, Cejudo entertained the idea.

“I guess now everybody wants a piece of me, huh?” Cejudo said. “I guess we’ll talk about it. Money talks. If the UFC wants to put it together and there’s a nice little budget in for both of – I ain’t doing it in Mexico, though. Hell no. We can do it here in America.”

Cejudo and Moreno have history together. Moreno was brought in to Cejudo’s training camps early into his MMA career to help Cejudo prepare. When Moreno joined The Ultimate Fighter, Cejudo, who served as a coach, didn’t pick Moreno to be in his team and Moreno ended up training under Cejudo’s rival Joseph Benavidez.

From there, their friendship and training relationship ended. Moreno would go on to keep doing some of his training with Benavidez once he joined the UFC. Years later, Cejudo would take Deiveson Figueiredo under his win in preparation for the trilogy bout against Moreno in 2022.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.