Henry Cejudo is still riding high following his victory over Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 and becoming the latest in the string of UFC double-champions, and rightfully so. However, his post-fight callouts have been met with instant criticism. The new champ-champ opted to call out Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber, and Cody Garbrandt, with all three fighters not having won a fight since 2016. So why didn’t Cejudo call out Aljamain Sterling? Petr Yan? Or even Joseph Benavidez, who currently holds a victory over Cejudo down at flyweight? Because Cejudo wants to add yet another title to his name, that of “Legend Killer” (Transcript via MMA Fighting):
“Because those are legends,” Cejudo said at the UFC 238 post-fight press conference when explaining why he called out Cruz, Faber and Garbrandt. “I want big fights. I’m on a legend rampage. That’s what I want. I’m a legend killer. I want big fights.
“Dominick Cruz, you guys wouldn’t like Dominick Cruz versus Henry Cejudo? Doesn’t that sound exciting?”
One guy who most certainly doesn’t like the thought of Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz next is Aljamain Sterling, whom many believe staked his claim as the clear-cut #1 contender at UFC 238 after defeating Pedro Munhoz en route to his fourth consecutive victory. Coincidentally, when Sterling was still building himself up to title contention, he, too, called out Dominick Cruz for a fight. Unfortunately for Sterling then and Cejudo now, Dominick Cruz is still sidelined following shoulder surgery with no time table for a return.
If Dominick Cruz were healthy and you were the UFC matchmaker, would you consider him as Cejudo’s first title defense?
