Henry Cejudo Wants Alexander Volkanovski Title Fight; Would Be 3rd UFC Division Title

Henry Cejudo is coming back to the UFC with one goal in mind: to become the first three-division champion in the sport's history.

He'll just have to make a pitstop back at his old bantamweight stomping grounds on his way to taking on featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

"That's the only reason why I'm even going down to 135 pounds," Cejudo said of his quest for featherweight gold, per Marc Raimondi of ESPN. "These dudes are not on my level—none of those dudes are at my level. And they all know it. So if I have to go down to 135 pounds [and win back] my belt to challenge Alexander Volkanovski, that's what I have to do."

Cejudo has not fought since retiring after his win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020. He ended his career with six straight wins, capturing the flyweight and bantamweight championships in the process.

"Nobody beat me," Cejudo said. "I left, I relinquished my belt. I was never stripped. ... I'm here to make history."

The 35-year-old began mounting his comeback in April, reentering the USADA drug-testing pool. He will be eligible to fight again in October.

Current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is set to defend his title against TJ Dillashaw at September's UFC 279 pay-per-view. Cejudo said he would like to face the winner of that bout in his return fight or potentially go toe-to-toe with Sean O'Malley, who has become a rising face in the bantamweight division.