Ali Abdelaziz: “I’m gonna do everything in my power” to make Henry Cejudo vs. Alexander Volkanovski happen

Henry Cejudo has been angling for a fight with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, and his manager Ali Abdelaziz will be doing everything he can to make it happen.

Cejudo, the former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion, retired in May, after defending his bantamweight strap with a TKO win over Dominick Cruz. Since his retirement announcement, he’s stated repeatedly that he’d return to the cage for a fight with Volkanovski, which would give him the opportunity to become the first three-division champion in UFC history.

Speaking to Submission Radio recently, Volkanovski deemed this potential matchup a “waste of time,” and insisted that he’s focused on the featherweight division’s top contenders.

Nonetheless, Abdelaziz says he’ll do everything he can to make the fight a reality. He’s confident it can be done.

“I think Henry is going to fight Alexander,” Abdelaziz told BJPENN.com on Thursday. “Alexander keeps walking around saying it doesn’t make sense. They’re going to fight. I’m going to do everything in my power to make this fight happen. It makes a lot of sense.

“Henry Cejudo is a pound-for-pound great,” he added. “I think Alexander, to fight someone like Henry, it adds to his resume. Henry is one of the greatest combat athletes of all time. [Volkanovski] knows that’s the real fight.”

Part of Volkanovski’s objection to a potential fight with Cejudo stems from his belief that the fight would not be competitive.

“Everyone’s just going to sort of expect me to go out there and mop the floor [with him],” Volkanovski told Submission Radio. “And that’s pretty much exactly what’s going to happen. No disrespect to Henry Cejudo, but it’s a whole different breed in this division.”

Abdelaziz begs to differ, and suspects Cejudo would be the betting favorite heading into the matchup.

“Honestly, if the odds come out, I think Henry is going to be favored,” the manager said.