Dana White pumps brakes on Henry Cejudo pound-for-pound talk

After Henry Cejudo captured the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 238, adding this new belt to a trophy case that already includes the UFC flyweight strap and an Olympic medal, he proudly proclaimed himself the greatest combat athlete of all time, and the UFC’s pound-for-pound king.

”I am the greatest combat athlete of all time,” Cejudo hollered into the microphone. “And I just stole the title of best pound-for-pound fighter too!”

UFC President Dana White is certainly impressed by Henry Cejudo, but believes these comments are a little premature — particularly with fighters like Jon Jones and Khabib Nurmagomedov enjoying such success in the UFC.

He also pumped the breaks on Cejudo’s goal of challenging for the featherweight title in the future.

”Let’s just stick with these two weights and then we’ll talk about that stuff,” the UFC boss said after UFC 238 when asked if he’d be willing to let Cejudo challenge for the featherweight title (via MMA Mania). “I heard he also said he’s the pound for pound best in the world.

”Listen, it’s awesome that he believes in himself like that and he’s so confident,” White added. “But you gotta be realistic. You’ve got Jon Jones out there. Khabib’s never lost, he’s undefeated. And look at the guys these guys have run through, and look at how long Jon Jones has defended his title. Yeah, so…”

While Dana White clearly isn’t buying Henry Cejudo as the pound-for-king champion just yet, he was very complimentary of the UFC’s new two-division champ.

“I’m blown away by his performance. I’m never gonna doubt that kid again,” he said. “This guy has heard it all from ‘You didn’t really beat Demetrious [Johnson]’ to ‘It was a fluke when you knocked out T.J. [Dillashaw]’ You can’t deny the guy anymore. He’s awesome.”

What do you think of Dana White’s comments on Henry Cejudo?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 6/10/2019.