Aljamain Sterling, the current UFC bantamweight champion, has criticized former champion Henry Cejudo for withdrawing from his scheduled fight against Marlon Vera at UFC 292. Cejudo cited an injury as the reason for his withdrawal, but Sterling believes that Cejudo is simply afraid to fight Vera.
Aljamain Sterling reacts to ‘dirty little weasel’ Henry Cejudo withdrawing from UFC 292 https://t.co/DKy0tiEeH0 pic.twitter.com/u7AvnkxMbB
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) July 1, 2023
Cejudo’s withdrawal and Sterling’s response
Cejudo was set to make his return to the octagon after losing his title fight to the champion Aljamain Sterling back in May 2023. However, he withdrew from the fight just a few weeks before the event, citing an injury. Sterling, who defeated Cejudo less than two months ago to retain his bantamweight title, took to social media to criticize Cejudo for his withdrawal. In a tweet, Sterling wrote, “Henry Cejudo is a coward. He talks a big game, but when it comes time to fight, he always finds a way out.”
Sterling’s comments have sparked a debate among MMA fans, with some agreeing with him and others defending Cejudo. Cejudo has yet to respond to Sterling’s comments.
Cejudo’s Career and Legacy
Cejudo is a former Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling and two-division UFC champion. He retired from MMA in 2020 after defeating Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 but has since made his long-awaited this past May. He came up short in a very closely contested fight with Sterling where he lost via split decision. Cejudo has been vocal about his thoughts on his fight with Sterling, thinking he won even though the judges thought differently.
Cejudo’s legacy in MMA is still up for debate. Some fans and analysts consider him to be one of the greatest fighters of all time, while others believe that his accomplishments are overrated. Regardless of his legacy, Cejudo’s withdrawal from UFC 292 has disappointed many fans who were looking forward to seeing him fight Marlon “Chito” Vera.
The future of the bantamweight division
With Cejudo out of the picture, the future of the bantamweight division is uncertain once Sterling completes his last fight in the division when he takes on Sean O’Malley at UFC 292. Sterling has said that win or lose he will be moving up to the featherweight division after his last and final title defense against the No. 1 contender Sean O’Malley.
This has certainly been something that was known to happen in the near future due to the brutal weight cuts for Sterling along with his best friend and training partner Merab Dvalishvili waiting in the wings for his title shot. It will be interesting to see who the UFC will put in a potential title shot if Sterling were to beat O’Malley at UFC 292 and then relinquish the title shortly thereafter.
The top of the bantamweight division is heating up with Sterling vs. O’Malley to crown the bantamweight champion, along with Dvalishvili nursing an injury, Cory Sandhagen taking on the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov, and Petr Yan just waiting for a contender to try to surpass him in the rankings. The bantamweight division will certainly be exciting in the next year or so.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
