Khabib Nurmagomedov maps out final fights of Henry Cejudo’s UFC career: ‘I’m going to talk with Dana’
Khabib Nurmagomedov believes he knows how Henry Cejudo should conclude his hall of fame-worthy UFC career.
Dagestan’s Nurmagomedov, the former UFC lightweight champion, joined Cejudo on a recent episode of the Pound-for-Pound podcast, and shared some advice with the American.
He suggested Cejudo take one more fight at bantamweight in February to get back into competition shape, then drop back down to flyweight for a fight with the division’s reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja.
“You fight February,” Khabib told Cejudo. “March, take off [from training], and jump April into training camp, and fight June or July in International Fight Week at 125 [pounds] for the title.”
“We talk about legacy brother… Can you imagine you come back and win 125?”
Cejudo, 37, is a former two-division champion. He first won the flyweight title with a decision win over MMA legend Demetrious Johnson. Then, after defending the belt with a quick knockout of TJ Dillashaw, he moved up to bantamweight, where he claimed the vacant title with a stoppage of Marlon Moraes. He defended that belt once, with a knockout of Dominick Cruz, before entering in a temporary retirement.
Henry Cejudo (16-4) has fought twice since ending his retiring, first losing a bantamweight title fight against Aljamain Sterling, then losing to Sterling’s teammate Merab Dvalishvili — both times by decision.
From the sounds of it, he is willing to drop back down to flyweight. In fact, he is already considering it, to avoid a fight with Khabib’s cousin Umar Nurmagomedov.
“I’m thinking about going to down [to flyweight] because of your cousin,” Cejudo told Khabib. “Real recognizes real.”
“I don’t want a piece of Umar,” he added. “I can make [the weight], it’s just a lot of discipline.”
Khabib plans to speak with Dana White
Khabib then reiterated that Cejudo should move back down to flyweight before retiring, and stated that if he does so, a fight with Pantoja is the only choice.
“If they want some big fight for this weight class, they have to make this fight,” he said. “Cejudo vs. Pantoja.
“There is no other option than Pantoja. There is no fight.”
As the interview wrapped up, Cejudo asked Khabib to text UFC CEO Dana White and campaign for the potential fight with Pantoja.
“Help me get that fight,” he said.
“I’m going to talk with Dana,” Khabib responded.
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired after a submission win over Justin Gaethje in 2020. He also holds wins over the likes of Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Edson Barboza, and Rafael dos Anjos. His records stands at a perfect 29-0.
