UFC News: Latest on Henry Cejudo Retirement, Kamaru Usman and Daniel Cormier

The UFC news cycle is dominated by champions and former champions trying to get back to the top of the mountain or prevent others from reaching it.

Among the notable stories, Henry Cejudo would like to add a third UFC championship to his resume, Kamaru Usman is trying to defend his belt, and Daniel Cormier is trying to get one back from Stipe Miocic. 

Cejudo publicly retired in the cage after his win over Dominick Cruz in May. Of course, as a fighter, he's expected to retire at least three times and has already been teasing a return.

Usman's preparations for defending his welterweight title are going to look different from any other fight in his career.

Cormier, meanwhile, couldn't be more excited about the condition in which he'll fight Miocic for the third time. 

Here's the rundown for each of the champions.

Dana White Not Sold on Cejudo vs. Volkanovski

It didn't take Cejudo long to show that his retirement was conditional. The former flyweight and bantamweight king has publicly expressed his interest in a fight with current featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski to capture a historic third championship. 

Volkanovski even acknowledged the callout and fired back, saying Cejudo should really worry about the challengers in his own divisions.

UFC president Dana White has now also weighed in on the potential for a superfight between the two, and the outlook isn't good. 

"He's retired," White said, per Farah Hannoun of MMAjunkie. "I just did another interview where people are asking me about other retired guys, these guys are retired. I'm not even thinking about any of those guys, they're retired. There are so many kids right now that are here, that want to fight. Those are the people that I'm focused on."

It's possible that White is to be taken seriously here. Featherweight doesn't lack for contenders to put against Volkanovski, starting with a rematch against Max Holloway on July 11. Should he get past Holloway, he would have only defended the belt once. 

This, much like Cejudo's retirement, could also be a negotiation tactic. Cejudo isn't the biggest headliner in the business by any stretch, and refusing to acknowledge his desire to move up and fight again could be White playing hardball. 

At this point, it's looking less likely this is a fight that gets made any time soon. 

Kamaru Usman Switching Camps Ahead of Title Fight

Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns have trained together since at least 2013. In just a few weeks, they'll be staring at each other from across the cage with the welterweight title on the line. 

That can make for some awkward situations at the gym, but that's not going to happen, as Usman has switched camps ahead of the fight. Brett Okamoto of ESPN spoke to the champion about his move to Denver, where he is training with Trevor Wittman. 

Wittman is a respected trainer and has worked with the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Rose Namajunas and Justin Gaethje. As Okamoto noted, this will be the first time the champion has had a camp outside of Florida. He was previously a part of the Blackzilians before joining Sanford MMA, where Burns remains a member. 

"I wanted a little more specific attention at this point in my career—someone to be able to say, 'You're going to come in at this time and work on this particular skill.' It's very tough to do that when there are 40 to 50 guys in the room with you who also need to get attention," Usman told Okamoto when explaining the change. 

Both fighters have worked under Henri Hooft, who has chosen to be in neither fighter's corner for the fight. 

The familiarity and shift in camps add another layer of intrigue to the title fight. Usman has been an unstoppable force in the division and has yet to lose a fight since joining the UFC in 2015. He finished Colby Covington in the fifth-round of his first title defense.

Burns comes into the fight with considerable momentum. He is riding a six-fight win streak, with the latest win a one-sided beatdown against Tyron Woodley that looked an awful lot like the beating Usman put on the former champ. 

Given the similarity in both of their training backgrounds, maybe that shouldn't have been a surprise. How their knowledge of each other's game will play out in the cage will be one of the key stories to watch when they meet at UFC 251. 

Cormier Excited to Meet Miocic in Smaller Cage

The stakes couldn't be higher in the rubber match between Cormier and Miocic. Both fighters have great resumes in the heavyweight division, and the record between the two sits at 1-1. The winner of this fight will have bragging rights and the crown of "best in their era" for good. 

With both fighters proving their mettle against one another, any little advantage is going to matter, and DC feels he has one in the smaller cage the two will fight in. 

In a conversation with Ariel Helwani of ESPN (h/t MMAjunkie), Cormier was ecstatic to find out the fight will go down at the APEX Facility where the promotion has been using a smaller, 25-foot cage. 

"I love fighting at the APEX," Cormier said. "That old leg will be right in front of me to grab. I'll be like Curtis Blaydes. If you want to see a 25-minute standup fight, it's not what you're getting. I hope Stipe has his wrestling shoes because with the small cage—single leg, single leg, single leg, single leg, wrestling. It is what it is. Sorry."

Wrestling was a key in their second fight. Cormier's best moments came in the first round when he was able to secure a takedown and land 21 ground strikes. That would be his only takedown in the fight, though, as Miocic rallied to turn the tide and knock DC out in the fourth round. 

This matchup is as good as it gets in the heavyweight division, and the fight taking place in the smaller Octagon just guarantees there will be nowhere to run and distance will be hard to come by for the third and final fight in their series.