Retired Former UFC Champ Henry Cejudo Intrigued By Potential Fight vs. Max Holloway

It’s been nearly a year since Henry Cejudo announced his retirement, but the former two-division UFC champ continues to make headlines by teasing potential matchups.

His latest focal point is former featherweight champion Max Holloway. In a recent interview with ESPN, the Olympic gold medalist explained why Holloway is potentially an interesting opponent for him.

"I have never called out Max Holloway," Cejudo said. "Even when he had the belt, I have never called him out. I feel like in the future, I would love to fight him. People would not believe me that I could beat him. He's so damn tall and what he's been able to do.

"I love that challenge. I love the fact people don't think I could beat him. He's taller than me and has inflicted more damage on different people, but I feel like I'm too smart and too skilled.”

Cejudo is a former flyweight and bantamweight title holder in the UFC. He called it a career in the Octagon after defending his 135-pound belt for a final time in a second-round TKO of Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020.

Cejudo has also called out reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski in the past, but he’d like to see Holloway regain the 145-pound belt to set up a matchup down the road. “Triple C” believes he could navigate Holloway’s reach and rely on his fight savvy were he to attempt to compete in a third weight class in the Octagon. Holloway is coming off a dominant win over Calvin Kattar in the UFC on ABC 1 main event in January.

“I think my IQ, I think my smartness [would be the difference],” Cejudo said. “Of course, he has range. I would be the distance. This is the thing, man: 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.”