UFC champion Aljamain Sterling reacts to Henry Cejudo’s callout of teammate Merab Dvalishvili: “He’s got a tall task ahead of him”

By Harry Kettle - May 16, 2023

Aljamain Sterling has given his thoughts on Henry Cejudo possibly squaring off with his teammate Merab Dvalishvili.

Aljamain Sterling, Henry Cejudo

Earlier this month, Aljamain Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo via split decision. It was a tight, competitive affair but in the end, it was Sterling who got his hand raised and walked away as the UFC bantamweight champion.

Following the bout, many questioned whether or not Henry Cejudo would retire. Ultimately, it seems as if he’s decided to keep his career going, as he went on to call out Merab Dvalishvili for his next fight.

Merab is riding quite the win streak right now and recently defeated Petr Yan in a dominant performance. Initially, though, it seemed like his next meeting would be with Cory Sandhagen.

During a recent interview, Sterling gave his thoughts on the prospect of Cejudo vs his teammate Dvalishvili.

“I think he’s in a good spot. The way I think he’s looking at it is, if he beats the No. 1 contender, he gets right back into a championship situation,” Sterling said. “We had a close fight, I guess to play devil’s advocate, if I were to lose to Sean [O’Malley] in my next one, it would give Cejudo a chance to jump right back into a championship opportunity.

Sterling questions Cejudo’s chances

“It’s not a bad idea. But, I do think he’s got a tall task ahead of him if he thinks he can just walk past Merab. He thought the same thing with me, I do think he underestimated me…and I think he might be building the very same thing against Merab. If he thinks my gas tank wasn’t gonna hold up, good luck with [Merab].”

Quotes via MMA News

What do you think would happen if Henry Cejudo fought Merab Dvalishvili? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!

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Topics:

Aljamain Sterling Henry Cejudo Merab Dvalishvili UFC