UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling doesn’t think a fight with Henry Cejudo would attract significant box office attention.
Sterling defended the bantamweight title once again in a win over TJ Dillashaw at UFC 280 on Saturday. After Dillashaw re-aggravated a shoulder injury, Sterling pounced on the opportunity and overwhelmed him with ground-and-pound on the canvas.
Sterling doesn’t have a shortage of potential title challengers waiting in the wings. This includes Sean O’Malley, Marlon Vera, as well as others in the mix.
A question mark surrounding the bantamweight title picture is the status of Cejudo. After re-entering the USADA testing pool, he hasn’t been booked for a fight despite initially targeting Sterling for his return.
Despite the banter back-and-forth between Sterling and Cejudo in recent months, the bantamweight titleholder doesn’t feel a matchup with Cejudo will add a lot to his résumé and attract pay-per-view interest.
Aljamain Sterling Downplays Fan Interest In Henry Cejudo Matchup
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Sterling expressed disinterest in a fight with Cejudo.
“We’ll figure out who’s the best fight, man. I feel like no one cares about the Henry Cejudo fight but the hardcores,” Sterling said. “If you wanna talk about dollar signs, it’s O’Malley. If you want to talk about legacy, it’s Petr Yan. If you want to talk about an intriguing fight because they thought I got to it really quick and it might’ve been lucky, you got Sandhagen. So I got options, man.”
Cejudo retired following his last title defense against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. He hasn’t fought since but has teased superfights with Sterling and Alexander Volkanovski, among others.
Sterling has recently hinted that Cejudo would have to beg for a title shot to get it. If his recent comments are any indication, it may be Cejudo’s only path to an immediate title shot.
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