Henry Cejudo has named Sean O’Malley and a current UFC champion on his hit list to reach gold once again.
The former two-division UFC champion makes his return to the octagon this weekend against Song Yadong at UFC Seattle.
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Cejudo is fresh off two straight defeats to Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili, having failed to earn a victory since May 2020.
Should he not get past his Chinese opponent on Saturday night, Cejudo will have lost three consecutive fights for the first time in his MMA career.
Yadong is the number eight ranked UFC bantamweight – one below Cejudo – and will be a tough test for the American ex-Olympic gold medallist.
However, Cejudo, 38, insists he has never felt better and is determined to achieve his last goal in the UFC as his fighting career comes to an end.
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“I’m putting a timeline on my career and making sure I'm hitting all cylinders to be able to become a champion once again,” Cejudo told Home of Fight ahead of UFC Seattle.
“I feel good at the age of 38, my body is good now it just comes down to desire and will, and you know, how far is that willing to go?”
Cejudo won the UFC flyweight title in a rematch with Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227 in 2018.
‘Triple C’ proceeded to defend his belt against then-UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, who dropped 10 pounds for the bout, shockingly knocking out his American counterpart in 32 seconds.
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Cejudo then attempted to claim two-division status himself by moving up to 135 pounds to fight Marlon Moraes, and was successful as he knocked out the Brazilian at UFC 238 in 2019.
In doing so, he etched his name in the UFC history books as one of just four fighters who have held two titles simultaneously in Dana White’s promotion.
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Only Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes have since achieved that feat to date, and Cejudo isn’t ready to stop challenging himself yet.
“We’re gonna start off with O’Malley,” Cejudo added, discussing his future UFC plans should he get past Yadong.
“And we’re gonna end with Merab [Dvalishvili]. I’m going for it dude. You know what I’m saying.
“[My next opponents] vary because I'm tiptoeing. There’s two divisions that I reigned over. So you guys have to stay tuned and watch. I still haven’t really made a decision yet. What I will say is I’m going for it.”
Dvalishvili is the UFC bantamweight champion and is the last person Cejudo fought in the UFC
The pair locked horns at UFC 298 in February last year, with Dvalishvili coming out on top by securing a unanimous decision victory.
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This fight came after Cejudo had dropped the belt nine months prior to Sterling, who then lost the title to O’Malley.
Dvalishvili claimed the UFC bantamweight title by cruising past O’Malley at UFC 306 last September, before defending it against Umar Nurmagomedov in January.
Cejudo went on to admit that he is ‘of course’ interested in also moving down a division to fight UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Speaking on his upcoming bout at Climate Pledge Arena, Cejudo recognised the tough test that lies ahead of him, but was fully confident on the final outcome.
“It's going to turn out to be a banger, dude,” Cejudo said on his "Pound 4 Pound" podcast with Kamaru Usman.
“Stylistically, we're both kind of little muscular humans. Song is a little taller, but he probably does cut a lot of weight.
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“I personally like the fight stylistically, as well. I think Song is going to bring a lot of power, uses a lot of hands.
"But we also know that once you start doing some other things, he'll be fading away just a bit. I have a good game plan set in place for a guy who is about 10 years younger than me.
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“Song is a tough opponent, and I like it. But I can see myself stopping this dude. He's going to need a lot more than a fortune cookie, let me tell you."
Brendan Allen faces Anthony Hernandez in the co-main event at UFC Seattle, while debuts are in store for Julius Walker and Austin Vanderford – the husband of Paige VanZant.
