Henry Cejudo has been flirting with a return to the UFC for the past couple of months. Ali Abdelaziz, Cejudo's manager, believes a return in 2022 is on the cards and has a good chance of happening.
Henry Cejudo has made it no secret he wants to challenge Alex Volkanovski for his UFC featherweight title and try to become champion in three different weight classes.
Ali Abdelaziz has always said that Henry Cejudo won't just return for one fight in the UFC, he'll compete at bantamweight after featherweight. There are plans for an actual multiple-fight comeback.
“Yes, I do,” Abdelaziz said when asked by MMA Fighting if Cejudo fights in 2022. “100-percent I do. I think he does. “If he [loses a featherweight title fight], he can go down to 135. He’s not coming in for one fight. He’s coming in for a legacy fight to get three belts but at the end of the day, too, there’s a lot of fights at 135 and 145, too, it’s no problem. He’s a competitor. As long as he’s breathing, this guy’s going to be a competitor.”
Ali Abdelaziz is a businessman and he knows how to negotiate with UFC. He understands why they're hoping to avoid another Georges St-Pierre situation.
The only thing he can do is assure the UFC that Henry Cejudo is not looking for a one-off. He's back for good, if he actually comes back that is.
“I understand the UFC title is the most coveted title in all of sports,” Ali said. “You can’t just win a title and bounce, especially if you promise you’re going to defend it. I can guarantee this, if I know one-percent that Henry will bounce, I will not be involved in it. Because, it’s important to keep my word as a man, to anybody, not just to Dana or to Sean or to anybody in the UFC. As a man, I would like to know I’m the one who kept his word at all costs. I think Henry is this guy, too. He’s an honorable guy, he’s always going to keep his word.”
Ali Abdelaziz also believes the timing makes sense because of the way the UFC featherweight division currently looks. There aren't too many contenders in the weight class.
“Of course Max [Holloway] deserves it too but I think timing will be great because Henry can fight [Volkanovski] in February and Max can fight the winner,” Abdelaziz said. “But also it’s a huge gap in the division. You have Alexander, you have Max and it’s a huge gap and you have someone like Giga [Chikadze], who has a seven-fight winning streak. Giga has a fight. I think it’s the perfect time for Henry to come in and see what he can do in the division. If he wins, he can fight Max and after that he can fight Giga. In reality, it’s a really great fight. It’s a really big fight.”
It is yet to be seen if the UFC will negotiate with Henry Cejudo to bring him back. His team certainly has some big plans should the UFC choose to pull the trigger.
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