Is the fight good? No. Is the timing right? Yes. Alexander Volkanovski has nobody to fight. While the UFC is now okay with giving title shots off of losses, I have a better idea: let him beat up Henry Cejudo. Many want him to fight Max Holloway for a third time, and that’s all fine and dandy. But, Holloway might want a crack at that McGregor money, and rightfully so. Now is actually the perfect time for Holloway to fight McGregor. So, let’s book it, right?
Henry Cejudo Chasing Glory
Henry Cejudo is about the glory. He won Olympic gold, defeated Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight belt, and won the bantamweight title. Now he want’s to be the first to go up to get a third belt. He isn’t holding any divisions up right now (more on the state of featherweight in the next section). Cejudo is a free agent.
Allowing Cejudo to go after the third belt would provide a major boost to his ranking on the GOAT list. Right now, I have Cejudo the lowest out of him, GSP, Jones, and Silva. But winning a third belt is unprecedented. The only man who could have conceivably done that was Georges St-Pierre and he would have had to beat Khabib Nurmagomedov to do that. No small task.
Cejudo’s path to beat Volkanovski isn’t easy, either. Volkanovski is tough, skilled in every area of mixed martial arts, and smart. His game planning comes from the masterminds at City Kickboxing (Izzy, Hooker, Kara-France) and usually have fantastic game plans unless they are fighting Islam Makhachev. Cejudo would be at a major size disadvantage and would have to muster every ounce of greatness in his body to overcome these skills.
What else is there for Alexander Volkanovski?
At featherweight, there’s a problem for Alexander Volkanovski: Max Holloway. While a third fight might be imminent, a third bout does nothing for Alexander Volkanovski. The real problem lies in the fact that Holloway keeps beating contenders. He’s Volkanovski’s ultimate gate keeper. Already Holloway has put away the title hopes of Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez. Volkanovski beat Ortega, Korean Zombie lost to Rodriguez and Ortega, and the aforementioned Kattar. Holloway might be in the cards but there’s the Conor McGregor issue. Why would Holloway go fight Volkanovski when he can get paid more than he’s ever been paid to fight McGregor?
Enter: Henry Cejudo. Cejudo is a champ-champ and would be another huge notch on the resume of the already impressive Volkanovski that includes Ortega, Holloway twice, Jose Aldo, and Chad Mendes. With there being less than appealing options at featherweight, Cejudo might just remedy that sentiment. He provides the greatness factor that Volkanovski’s become accustomed to. Ortega is a jiu jitsu master, Holloway is one of the most exciting fighters, and Jose Aldo is Jose Aldo. Beating a former Olympian turned champ-champ is just what the doctor ordered.
There’s nothing at featherweight. Cejudo wants the fight. I’m sure Volkanovski wants the fight. The UFC and Dana White just have to want the fight. One more big Cejudo cringe fest. A big fight for Volkanovski. The featherweight division finds a contender that’s not Max Holloway. Holloway fight’s McGregor and if he wins, fights a third time. Volkanovski fights the contender found. There you go, UFC, I did your job for you.
