Henry Cejudo hasn’t ruled out a return to the flyweight division, but for now, his attention is fully on his upcoming bantamweight fight against Song Yadong.
The former two-division champion will headline UFC Fight Night Seattle this Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena.
Cejudo, who once held both the flyweight and bantamweight titles simultaneously, is often credited with saving the UFC’s 125-pound division. Snce coming out of retirement in 2023, he has suffered back-to-back decision losses at 135 pounds — first in a competitive fight against then-champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 and then in a dominant defeat to current champ Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298.
Despite these setbacks, Cejudo sees a potential future at flyweight.
“I’ve got to cut the weight, but there is a potential thing that I could be going back down,” Cejudo said during media day this week. “With a victory here, I don’t think there’s anybody at flyweight that could really sell the division.
“I think there’s too many dry people at that weight division. I feel like what I’ve done in combat sports, particularly the flyweights, is saving that division back in 2020. There could be a resurrection there.”
Cejudo’s recent comments about the flyweight division weren’t necessarily a slight toward current champion Alexandre Pantoja. Instead, “Triple C” believes he could help bring more attention and excitement to the weight class.
“I love Pantoja, and that’s another thing, too,” Cejudo said. “I spent New Year’s (with him)—I’m super close to Pantoja. He’s a great fighter, but sometimes I think he can create storylines because everybody is kind of dry at flyweight. There’s no tussle. There’s no storylines.”
He then reflected on how he once convinced UFC CEO Dana White to keep the flyweight division alive after winning the title from Demetrious Johnson.
“When I became champion, it was my responsibility. It was my responsibility when I talked to Dana. They were going to get rid of the division. He told me, ‘Hey man, I just want to let you know that I’m going to grant you your decision.’
“After I beat Demetrious (Johnson), I wanted to go up and become a double champ because the whole storyline was Demetrious Johnson vs. T.J. Dillashaw. I said, ‘I’m going to beat this dude, and I’m challenging the winner of Cody (Garbrandt) and T.J.’ Exactly what happened. He said, ‘We’re going to grant you, but we’re going to get rid of the division.’ I remember my heart just sunk. It just didn’t feel right. … I said, ‘Let’s bring (Dillashaw) down.’ So T.J. wanted to go down. I’m just like, ‘Let’s give him what he wants.’ So I beat him at 125 and then go up to 35 and then do it again.”
A win could set him up for another title push — whether at bantamweight or in a return to 125 pounds.
