Henry Cejudo Has Unexpected Name in Mind for Next Fight

How many Olympic gold medalist UFC fighters can you name…? If you said, “there’s only one” or “Henry Cejudo” then both answers would be correct.

Since he won his gold medal for men’s wrestling and transitioned into MMA, Cejudo has gone 12-2. He was undefeated with ten straight wins until he ran into the undisputed king of Flyweight, Demetrious Johnson. Since then, Cejudo has coached season 24 of The Ultimate Fighter against Joseph Benavidez who he lost a very close fight to before now going on a two-fight win streak with big wins over Wilson Reis and Sergio Pettis.

Some have pondered whether or not Cejudo may be due for his second crack at the champion, Johnson yet. Whether or not he is, he appears to have now turned his attention to another former title challenger to “Mighty Mouse”.

What's up @TElliott125 you don't have a fight and I don't have a fight. You talked a lot of tuf24. Time to step up @ufc @danawhite @Mickmaynard2

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) February 6, 2018

What’s up @TElliott125 you don’t have a fight and I don’t have a fight. You talked a lot of tuf24. Time to step up @ufc @danawhite @Mickmaynard2

This callout comes as a surprise to most as Cejudo is the #2 ranked contender in the division and just beat two top 5 fighters while Elliott is near the back end of the top 10. Cejudo did mention TUF 24 though, the season that he coached on and Elliott won as part of team Benavidez so it may be more of a personal thing than a matter of factoring in rankings and divisional placement.

Tim Elliott fought Demetrious Johnson as a result of winning TUF 24. That fight is most known for being a valiant effort by the big underdog, Elliott who gave the champion some of the most trouble he’s had since coming down and dominating the 125-pound division. Elliott has gone 2-1 since fighting Johnson and a potential win over Cejudo would certainly be huge for him.

What do you think of a matchup between Cejudo and Elliott?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/6/2018.