Henry Cejudo says beating Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 secures him a spot on “The Mount Rushmore of MMA”

Henry Cejudo believes he will enter the conversation as the best ever after UFC 288.

Cejudo is the former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion and retired following the first defense of his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May of 2020. His retirement came to the surprise of many, but three years later he is ending his now returning to face Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 288.

Although Cejudo is coming off a three-year retirement, the oddsmakers are slightly favoring him to win on Saturday night. If he does go out and beat Sterling to reclaim his bantamweight title, ‘Triple C’ thinks that secures his legacy and a spot on the Mount Rushmore of MMA.

“I think that puts me on the Mount Rushmore of MMA. I’m probably not better than Demetrious or Jon Jones or Anderson Silva, but I think that puts me at number four,” Cejudo said to TMZ Sports. “I think that puts me in a league, I’m a two-division champ, Olympic champ. I come back three years later, I do believe in my heart that I am the greatest combat athlete of all time, just by my resume, just by my accolades, but I think this fight right here puts me on Mount Rushmore.”

Not only does Henry Cejudo think a win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 puts him on MMA’s Mount Rushmore, but he also says it’s one step closer to becoming the greatest of all-time. According to Cejudo, he says with a win over Sterling, he wants to defend the belt once against Sean O’Malley and then move up to featherweight to face Alexander Volkanovski for the 145lbs title.

Should Cejudo eventually get a chance at becoming the featherweight champ, he thinks winning makes him the greatest MMA fighter ever as he would be the first-ever three-weight champ. But, before any of that can happen, ‘Triple C’ will need to beat Sterling on Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey at UFC 288.

Do you think Henry Cejudo should be on MMA’s Mount Rushmore with a win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288?