Henry Cejudo intrigued by grudge match with flyweight champion Brandon Moreno

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo (16-3) is itching to get back in the octagon. Cejudo is coming off a very close split decision loss to Aljamain Sterling in his return last month at UFC 288. A controversial scoring of the fifth round by one judge cost Cejudo the fight in his eyes.

After the fight was over, there were questions around whether or not Cejudo would return again or if he’d retire. Well, shortly after that, he called for a fight against Sterling’s teammate and top bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili. He wanted to fight him at UFC 292 when Sterling is taking on Sean O’Malley.

Merab had hand surgery and will likely not return until the fall or closer towards the end of the year. In speaking with ESPN, Cejudo said that he’s willing to wait for Merab to heal up so he can take that fight. He sees that fight as his quickest path back to the UFC bantamweight title.

However, there’s one other name that’s on the mind of Cejudo. That name is current UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (21-6-2).

Will the UFC book Cejudo – Moreno?

Cejudo and Moreno used to train together and by all counts be friends. However, the relationship soured and Cejudo was even one of the lead trainers for Deiveson Figueiredo heading into his third matchup with Moreno which he ended up winning by unanimous decision.

Cejudo told ESPN, “I want a piece of him. I called him out the first time. I wanted to fight him after he went over with Joseph Benavidez and trained with him and didn’t tell me, and I had to find out through social media.”

Moreno called for a fight against Cejudo after his bout against Sterling and he said he’d be willing to fight him at 135 with no belts up for grabs. Cejudo also said he’d prefer Moreno move up for the fight, but he also said that he’d be willing to move back to 125 and take his belt if the money is right.

Moreno has a huge challenge in front of him next month in Alexandre Pantoja. A man who holds multiple wins over Moreno. Cejudo doesn’t believe that Moreno will win that fight, but he’s wanting to fight the UFC’s flyweight champion regardless.