Henry Cejudo Views Return at UFC 288 as a 'Challenge Against Myself'

The ex-bantamweight champion will end his three-year hiatus against Aljamain Sterling—and he wants the belt back.

Henry Cejudo will challenge Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight championship on UFC 288 in May, seeking to regain the title he vacated three years prior.

“I want the leverage of having my belt,” Cejudo says. “For me, it’s not a challenge fighting him. It’s a challenge against myself.”

Following his TKO victory against Dominik Cruz in May 2020, Cejudo retired amid a six-fight win streak. Only months before that, Cejudo also relinquished the flyweight title, an impressive feat to be champion in two different divisions. Remarkably, that is not even the most phenomenal part of Cejudo’s journey, which occurred when he won a gold medal in wrestling at the Summer Olympics in 2008.

Now 36, Cejudo is confident that he can return to the Octagon and reclaim what once belonged to him, even if it means facing a dominant champ in Aljamain Sterling.

“My body feels good, I’ve never felt stronger in my life,” Cejudo says. “It’s been a nice little break to be able to rekindle my love for competition. It wasn’t just physical, it was also for my mind.”

Even if Cejudo left active competition, the sport never truly left him. He has remained a vocal presence, offering some of the sharpest insight on mixed martial arts. His YouTube show, Fight Feedback, breaks down fighters and grades them in an exceptionally informative manner.

Cejudo has stayed on top of every major issue in MMA. For example, controversy still surrounds the recent lightweight title bout featuring Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev, primarily because Volkanovski—who typically competes at featherweight, a division where he is the reigning champ—lost the fight yet remains ahead of Makhachev in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings.

“The pound-for-pound, that’s a popularity contest,” Cejudo says. “It’s no different from Miss Universe. They’re all pretty, but which one is going to be the most marketable? It’s a joke. It’s voted on by fanboys, which is ridiculous. It makes me sick.”

Asked for his opinion on the Volkanovski-Makhachev bout, Cejudo agreed that the judges scored the fight correctly in Makhachev’s favor. He is eager to see who makes the most effective adjustments in the eventual rematch, believing that the edge will belong to Makhachev.

“The fight was close, so if they fight again, it’s going to come down to whoever makes those right adjustments,” says Cejudo, who would make an extremely compelling opponent for Volkanovski at featherweight. “I think that’s going to be Islam Makhachev. He knows that he can take Volkanovski down. Now he just needs to improve those takedowns. I think Volkanovski gave everything he had defensively, but there are other transitions that Islam can do to stop him in his tracks and do it right this time.”

Cejudo has also played an integral role in the sport through his coaching and training. Blessed with the ability to see the sport in a manner few ever will, Cejudo has imparted his wisdom to a plethora of fighters, including Zhang Weili, Demetrious Johnson, and, most recently, Jon Jones, who will fight Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight title in less than two weeks at UFC 285.

“Jon’s real humble, and he’s very coachable,” Cejudo says. “Seeing his efficiency, trying to become better, that’s Jon. He understands the game of mixed martial arts.

“I’ve been fortunate. I’ve been the only guy to grab a hold of Jon other than his original coaches. There’s a reason Jon comes to Arizona to train with me. When it comes to learning, there is no ego with Jon. He’s all eyes and ears.”

For all his contributions to the sport, Cejudo (16-2) is most dominant when he is competing. His title bout against Sterling (22-3) will be a clash of two dynamic fighters. The rust from Cejudo’s three-year layoff would appear to favor Sterling, but he enters this bout healthy and well-rested.

Regardless of the time away, there is no reason to doubt Cejudo’s elite ability to close the distance and box in the pocket. Sterling, who is big for the division, has size and strength on his side–and he is far too smart to underestimate a former gold medalist well-versed in the highest levels of competition. Cejudo has prepared specifically for this bout, making it an extraordinarily fascinating fight to watch unfold.

“I’ve been out for three years,” Cejudo says. “This has to do with me. I’m here to prove it to my competitive soul, then bring it to Aljamain.”