Henry Cejudo: Alexander Volkanovski is “scared to sign the damn contract”

Former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo is retired, but he’s still interested in fighting Alexander Volkanovski for featherweight gold.

Cejudo shocked the MMA community by announcing his retirement after he defeated Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May. Since then, he’s made it clear that he would end his retirement for the right opportunity, such as a boxing match with Ryan Garcia, or a featherweight title fight with Volkanovski.

If Cejudo were to defeat Volkanovski, after all, he’d become the first fighter in UFC history to win titles in three weight classes. It would be a truly massive accomplishment.

Speaking to Adam Glyn, Cejudo explained why he’s so taken with the idea of becoming a three-division champion.

“I feel like me winning a third belt in the UFC would cement me as the greatest fighter of all time in the sport of mixed martial arts, because nobody will be able to do that but ‘Triple C,’” Cejudo said (via MMA Junkie).

Volkanovski fought at UFC 251 last weekend, when he defended the featherweight title with a controversial decision win over Max Holloway. Cejudo says he was rooting for Volkanovski, as he views him as the more favorable matchup of the two, but believes Holloway should have been awarded the decision win.

With the featherweight belt around Volkanovski’s waist, of course, Cejudo could still conceivably get the fight he wants. Yet he says the featherweight champion is “scared” to sign the contract.

“I thought Holloway probably won that fight,” Cejudo said. “Holloway won, man. It’s unfortunate. I was going for Volkanovski because I think it’s just a better matchup for me. He’s only about 2 inches taller than me, so I feel like he’d be a better matchup for me if we were to ever fight – if he wasn’t so scared and not scared to sign the damn contract.”

Does a featherweight title fight between Henry Cejudo and Alexander Volkanovski interest you?