Henry Cejudo tells Kayla Harrison to ‘bend the knee,’ but it backfires

UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo hasn’t fought since June, but he’s managed to stay in the headlines by calling out pretty much anybody with a pulse. That includes Dominick Cruz, Jose Aldo, Cody Garbrandt, Urijah Faber, Weili Zhang, Valentina Shevchenko, and most recently, PFL star Kayla Harrison.

The interaction between Harrison and Cejudo, both clients of Ali Abdelaziz and Dominance MMA, began on Twitter, when Harrison compared her accomplishments to those of her fellow Olympian.

Yes. Technically I have four titles bc I won worlds in 2010. Did Henry win worlds I can’t remember… @HenryCejudo

— Kayla Harrison (@KaylaH) January 7, 2020

“Technically I have four titles bc I won worlds in 2010,” Harrison wrote, tagging Cejudo. “Did Henry win worlds I can’t remember… @HenryCejudo”

Cejudo then responded with his classic “bend the knee” line.

@KaylaH why don’t you sign contract! Talk is cheap. You know who the greatest Combate athlete of all time is. #bendtheknee https://t.co/4AlHH4aaqp

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) January 8, 2020

“@KaylaH why don’t you sign contract! Talk is cheap,” Cejudo wrote. “You know who the greatest Combat athlete of all time is. #bendtheknee.”

Unfortunately, this line from Cejudo backfired, as Harrison promptly roasted the former flyweight for his stature.

I’d tell you to bend the knee but you’re already so close to the ground… a polite judo bow will suffice. #QueenK #CeJUDOknows https://t.co/3pa1ZodnHV

— Kayla Harrison (@KaylaH) January 8, 2020

“I’d tell you to bend the knee but you’re already so close to the ground… a polite judo bow will suffice. #QueenK #CeJUDOknows,” Harrison responded.

Cejudo then closed out the exchange by suggesting that Harrison’s fights are boring.

First of all one Wrestling Olympic gold medal is like 5 Olympic judo gold medals. One last thing, your fights are good natural remedies to cure insomnia. 💤 #bendtheknee https://t.co/Mek4kMjkEP

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) January 8, 2020

“First of all one Wrestling Olympic gold medal is like 5 Olympic judo gold medals,” Cejudo concluded. “One last thing, your fights are good natural remedies to cure insomnia. 💤 #bendtheknee.”

Given that Cejudo and Harrison share a manager, we can assume this is all in good fun.

Harrison recently became the PFL lightweight champion, winning a $1M in the process.

Cejudo, meanwhile, has been busy calling out countless fighters, but as of yet doesn’t have a fight booked. At this stage, the frontrunners for the next crack at his bantamweight title would seem to be Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling, and former featherweight Jose Aldo.

What do you think of this back-and-forth from Kayla Harrison and Henry Cejudo?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/7/2020.