Henry Cejudo became a double champion when he added the bantamweight championship to sit along with his flyweight championship after defeating Marlon Moraes at UFC 238. Unfortunately for both divisions, Henry Cejudo suffered a shoulder injury in the process and will be sidelined for several months. The two men in the front of the lines awaiting Cejudo are Joseph Benavidez at flyweight and Aljamain Sterling at bantamweight. Sterling believes that even if fear is not the motivating factor, Cejudo will choose to go back down to flyweight for practical reasons:
“I knew that was the belt that he (Cejudo) had to defend first, but I also know he doesn’t like making 125 (pounds),” Sterling told MMA Junkie recently. “I know he’s not afraid, but it’s the path of least resistance in terms of a first title fight back, so if that’s the route he wants to go, I understand it. I think he knows if he comes back up to bantamweight, it’s going to be a long night for him.”
Aljamain Sterling has already endorsed the idea of Joseph Benavidez getting the first crack at Henry Cejudo upon the champion’s return, while he would keep busy fighting Petr Yan in an potential interim title fight at bantamweight. Sterling expects Cejudo to do exactly that because of what the alternative choice would hold for him:
“I’m a different fight compared to everybody else, and I think he knows that,” Sterling said. “I got great jiu-jitsu off my back, especially in top position, and my striking just keeps getting better every single time I step in there. I think I’m starting to finally come into my own and pull off the stuff that we work on in the gym and that my coaches have been raving about for so long.”
Do you think Henry Cejudo’s first fight back will be at flyweight or bantamweight?
