Petr Yan says he lost ‘all respect’ for Henry Cejudo for wanting Jose Aldo title fight

Petr Yan is not a fan of Henry Cejudo, to say the least.

After Yan beat Urijah Faber at UFC 245, many thought the Russian would be next in line for a title shot at Henry Cejudo. Yet “Triple C” instead called for a bout with Jose Aldo who is 0-1 at bantamweight, and on a two-fight losing streak.

Yan says that forced him to lose all respect for Cejudo and says if Aldo gets a title shot it will be bad for the sport.

“I lost all respect for Cejudo. He doesn’t want to defend his belt against a real number one contender,” Petr Yan said to BJPENN.com through his translator Sayat Abdrakhmanov. “He wants to fight someone with zero wins in 135 division and on a two-fight losing streak, and far from the peak of his career. UFC shouldn’t support this behavior if they want to keep any significance to that belt. Honestly, it will be bad for the sport.”

Yan also has a hunch why Cejudo has not mentioned his name once. He believes the champ doesn’t want to fight him because he knows he would lose the belt.

“He is a triple clown who is trying to turn our sport into a circus. He knows I’m a terrible matchup for him,” he explained. “That’s why he is trying to avoid fighting me.”

Ultimately, if Petr Yan does not get the next title shot against Henry Cejudo, he is fine taking another fight. But he says he will never ask for a fight against someone coming off a loss as Cejudo has been.

“I love to fight and I’m willing to fight anyone deserving. It doesn’t matter if I have to clean out division before or after I win the belt,” Yan said. “One thing you can know for sure, I’m not gonna ask for someone who just lost the fight.”

Do you think Petr Yan deserves the next crack at Henry Cejudo?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/23/2019.