Henry Cejudo can kiss his UFC “champ-champ” days goodbye.
Cole Shelton, representing BJPENN.com, confirmed with sources that Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo are being targeted for a flyweight title at UFC Norfolk on Feb. 29. At the time of the report, it was unknown whether or not it was for the main gold or an interim championship. MMAJunkie.com‘s Mike Bohn followed up on this confirming that Cejudo’s run as the 125-pound title holder is over.
It’s no secret that Cejudo was calling for big fights at 135 pounds. Having held both the flyweight and bantamweight gold simultaneously, “Triple C” showed little interest in cutting back down to 125 pounds and has recently called out Jose Aldo.
Benavidez has been clamoring for a second bout with Cejudo but unless he moves up in weight, that hope appears to be dashed. On the bright side, many would agree that this is Benavidez’s best and potentially last shot at UFC gold.
Cejudo stunned the MMA World when he defeated Demetrious Johnson via split decision in their rematch. “Triple C” ended up taking on Marlon Moraes for the vacant bantamweight gold back in June. Cejudo earned the TKO victory. While he only defended the flyweight gold once against T.J. Dillashaw, many credit Cejudo with saving the UFC men’s flyweight division.
