Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo has taken a break from blasting everybody on the roster to praise featherweight champ Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski.
Volkanovski is set to defend his title in the main event at UFC 290 this weekend, and Cejudo argues that a victory would seal the Australian fighter’s status as featherweight GOAT: Greatest Of All Time.
Henry Cejudo: Alexander Volkanovski Will Be UFC Featherweight GOAT
“Where does a win like this put Alexander Volkanovski? What would you rank him? Would he eventually beat out a guy like Jose Aldo? My answer, guys, is 100 percent.
Not only has he beaten Aldo, he’s gonna surpass his record through numbers, and in the fashion that he’s been doing it he’s been putting out the people who have put out Aldo.
He’s done a tremendous job and what’s missing for Alexander Volkanovski after this fight is potentially another belt or another shot at 155 pounds.”
Jose Aldo has long been considered the greatest featherweight of all time by fight fans, but Cejudo argued that Volkanovski could well eclipse Aldo in the near future.
One thing that would seal Volkanovski’s legacy is if he can make good on a longtime promise to capture a second title.
Volkanovski’s bid to move up to lightweight and dethrone Islam Makhachev failed, but there is no reason for the rematch not to happen. This rings particularly true if Volkanovski defends his title once again this weekend.
Otherwise, there are few, if any, challengers at featherweight for Volkanovski to take on. One name, however, sticks out. “There’s only one guy that everybody keeps talking about and his name is Ilia Topuria.
But is he ready for a guy that knows how to kick? Is he ready for a guy that is a little shorter than him? You see, Ilia’s 5’7”, Alexander Volkanovski is 5’6”.
When you get short fighters to fight each other, sometimes if you’re not accustomed to it, it’ll throw you off. It happened to me against Demetrious Johnson. They bring that little bit of speed that you’re not accustomed to.
Will a guy like Ilia Topuria have it in him to fight against an experienced vet like Alexander Volkanovski?
Is that power gonna be enough to beat a guy like Alexander Volkanovski? I do believe that after this fight, if he does get past Yair Rodriguez, there’s one more fight for him and that is Topuria.
After that, he needs to go up to 155 pounds and again challenge for that title.”
