Henry Cejudo’s coach talks up clash with Alexander Volkanovski after UFC 288
‘Pound-for-pound versus greatest martial arts athlete ever?’: Henry Cejudo’s coach talks Alexander Volkanovski clash but wants long build to become ‘unmistakable’ as Australian’s next opponent
- Henry Cejudo takes on Aljamain Sterling in the main event of UFC 288
- His long-term goal in coming out of retirement is to take on Alexander Volkanovski
- Cejudo would be the first three-time UFC champion in history if he won
Henry Cejudo’s coach wants a protracted build-up to what would be a mega fight between CCC and Alexander Volkanovski.
Cejudo is coming out of retirement to fight bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 this weekend, but has big plans beyond that bout.
He aims to become the first threeweight champion in UFC history, having already claimed the flyweight and bantamweight belts.
Cejudo was also a gold medal-winning wrestler in the Olympics, hence the nickname CCC.
And his coach, Eric Albarracin, wants to let Cejudo build up the hype before forcing the UFC to confront the Australian, who faces Jair Rodriguez in his next defense.
Henry Cejudo wants to become a champion in a third division after already winning two belts
Cejudo’s coach (center), pictured with him and Jon Jones (left), thinks he will win in the third round of his UFC 288 showdown against Aljamain Sterling
Albarracin told the MMA hours: ‘Alexander, pound for pound, this man is in. I’d like to see Henry really build this fight, not just physically, but get more into a rhythm.
“But more than that, when Henry starts his YouTube career, you should always think twice about becoming a businessman.
“I saw him beat Volkanovski, and what’s left? You’re not going back down.
So this kind of builds it up. So now everything is building, from his YouTube channel, from his mental mindset, from his physical mindset.
“He gets into his rhythm, he gets the audience, he gets pay-per-views, everyone wants to see him. Now he has made a name for himself again.
Now they can’t refuse him. Now let’s go pound-for-pound against the greatest fighting athlete of all time. Can Henry become C4? Or can Alexander Volkanovski knock out the greatest fighting athlete of all time.’
Volkanovski is no longer No. 1 pound-for-pound, having lost his lightweight outing to Islam Makhachev, though many feel he should have kept his status given how close the fight was.
Alexander Volkanovski has been dominant at featherweight and can welcome the challenge
Cejudo would be a brilliant cross-division game, but CCC would be foolish to look beyond Sterling this Saturday night in New Jersey.
The champion is a dangerous and unpredictable opponent – although Albarracin thinks his man will win within three rounds.
He said, “Triple C” takes it in threes. I think it’s going to be a submission. Henry may say something different, but I think it’s going to be a submission.
“They want to say struggle [is equal]. The fact that you say wrestling nullifies wrestling – Division III nullifies Olympic champion wrestling? Are you crazy?
Sterling is next for Cejudo and he would be foolish to overlook the champion
“I think you remember in 2019 when [T.J. Dillashaw’s coach] Duane “Bang” Ludwig said that on the show, go back and watch it, and see how excited I get when you guys bring that up.
‘No, there isn’t [comparison between] their struggle. We’re going to show you why Long Island is called Strong Island because I was born on Long Island and we’re going to show you why world-class wrestling is king on Saturday nights.
‘Bet on the house if you’re so sure of what’s going to happen, that [Sterling’s] struggling [is better],’ continued Albarracin. ‘How is he going to like it [Cejudo’s] back? This will be played out where Henry decides.”