Max Holloway is someone former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo would consider facing in his return.
The Olympic wrestler told ESPN as much when asked about potential opponents. Cejudo, who retired in 2020 after beating Dominick Cruz at UFC 249, has been very active on social media. After almost every flyweight and bantamweight bout, he calls out the top fighters on their performance. Recently, he judged the controversial fight between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. He has also called out Alexander Volkanovski.
While he has been teasing making a return, Cejudo has only called out specific fighters. One person that he hasn't called out is Holloway. That has since changed.
“I have never called out Holloway,” Cejudo stated (h/t MMA Fighting). “Even when he had the belt, I have never called out Max Holloway. But he’s another fight that I feel like in the future I would love to fight because people would not believe me that I could beat him because he’s so damn tall and what he’s been able to do. I love the challenge. I love the fact that people do not believe that I can beat him."
“I think that Max Holloway fight, because nobody would believe me, is the same reason why I would want that fight. He’s taller than me. He’s inflicted a lot more damage on different people. But I feel like I’m just too smart and just too skilled and I love the challenge if I were to ever fight Max Holloway.”
Holloway, the former UFC featherweight champion, lost the title to Volkonovski in 2019. He would lose the rematch in what many are calling a controversial result. After a few months away from the octagon, Holloway would return during the UFC's ABC debut in January. A focused Holloway beat Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision in a fight that saw him outshine Kattar with his boxing.
While he has an interest in regaining the featherweight title, Holloway has also shown interest in moving up in weight.
Volkanovski is scheduled to defend his title against Brian Ortega on March 27 at UFC 260. If Holloway were to face the winner, Cejudo would love the idea of facing him and potentially winning another title. While Holloway’s striking has been out of this world, Cejudo believes he would have the ultimate advantage.
“I think my IQ, I think my smartness (is my advantage),” Cejudo went on to say. “Of course, he has range. It would be the distance. This is the thing, watch my Dominick Cruz fight. Look at how much taller he is than me and look at how I was able to manage the distance, taking his legs out, the timing portion of it. I think it’s just my IQ. … I personally feel that there’s no doubt in my mind that I can beat him."
“I would love for Max Holloway to win that belt again. I would love to go in there and fight him and to demonstrate to the world how great ‘Triple C’ is. I don’t dare to be great. I am damn great.”
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