Henry Cejudo was visibly surprised as seen in his reaction video of UFC 292 when O’Malley knocked out Sterling with a counter right hand. Cejudo among others had picked Sterling to retain the championship. With O’Malley winning the championship, Cejudo’s path to title contention has increased. The former Olympic Gold medalist now plans to either fight Sean O’Malley for the title or Merab Dvalishvili for the number one contender spot. O’Malley has already called out Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in his post-fight speech with Joe Rogan at UFC 292.
Henry ‘The Messenger’ Cejudo has called out ‘Suga” Sean O’Malley after O’Malley’s victory over Aljamain ‘Funkmaster’ Sterling at UFC 292. In his most recent outing, Cejudo lost a very close split decision lose to Sterling at UFC 288.
Henry Cejudo calls out Sean O’Malley
Henry Cejudo posted the backstage interaction he had with Sean O’Malley at UFC 276 on X, formerly Twitter, where the then-retired Cejudo called for a fight with O’Malley for his comeback. Cejudo’s plans were initially discussed in the UFC 292 reaction video uploaded in his YouTube channel. The Messenger is the most accomplished combat sports athlete as evident by his accomplishments in Olympic Wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts. Moreover, both O’Malley and Cejudo are from the same state of Arizona. A fight in Arizona is what Cejudo is gunning for. However, Sean O’Malley’s plans are rooted in fighting Vera in December in Las Vegas.
Hey Ronald MethDonald AKA Trans-Barbie…@SugaSeanMMA Congrats on landing a punch. Get ready to go down faster than Logan Paul’s fiancé in the bathroom of The ESPY’s. SIGN the Contract Island Boy. @danawhite 🖊️ 📄 pic.twitter.com/TXf2XLQYT0
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) August 20, 2023
Sean O’Malley already has animosity towards Cejudo for his cringy behavior. It is highly unlikely that Cejudo gets a crack at the title against O’Malley in his next fight. Cejudo’s best chance to fight O’Malley is by defeating Merab Dvalishvili who is on a 9-fight winning streak. With Sandhagen sidelined with triceps injury, Cejudo has the best chance of beating Dvalishvili.
A fight between O’Malley and Henry Cejudo could be ultra-competitive and amazing to watch if it ever happens. Nonetheless, UFC would most likely follow O’Malley’s plan of fighting Vera. Vera is the only person to defeat O’Malley in professional MMA.
Henry Cejudo failed to defeat Aljamain Sterling
Cejudo’s most recent fight saw him fall short of winning the title against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288. The fight was very close and many saw Cejudo as the victor before the judge’s scorecard was read. Sterling and Cejudo along with Merab Dvalishvili are the most accomplished grapplers in the bantamweight division. A fight between Sterling and Cejudo was meant to be a striking match with the wrestling cancelling itself out. However, Sterling took Cejudo down multiple times and so did Cejudo.
The scorecards in the Cejudo versus Sterling fight were all 48-47 with 2 of 3 in favor of Sterling. Cejudo admitted that Sterling’s cunning use of the downed fighter rule was the main reason he lost the fight. Sterling on other hand believed he controlled the tempo of the fight resulting in his third consecutive title defense in the division. Sterling has the all-time record for defenses in the division. Cejudo, on the other hand is the only fighter to hold both the flyweight and bantamweight titles.
Sterling has vowed to never fight Dvalishvili inside the Octagon. This had already put UFC in a conundrum. But his approach has now favored Cejudo, as a victory over Dvalishvili could put Cejudo in pole position to fight for the title. Henry Cejudo can now put back Sterling behind the line if he dominates Merab Dvalishvili. Nobody has solved the puzzle of the Georgian who uses extreme pressure to destroy opponents.
Will Cejudo fight O’Malley? Who do you think O’Malley and Cejudo fight next? Or will they fight each other? Leave it in the comment box below.
