5 reasons why the UFC should not book Alexander Volkanovski vs. Henry Cejudo

#2. In the post-McGregor landscape, the UFC should look to move away from “money fights”

Is the Conor McGregor-driven era of "money fights" over in the UFC?

Ever since the rise of Conor McGregor in 2015, and the UFC’s takeover at the hands of Endeavor a year later, the promotion has largely moved away from being a meritocracy. Rightly or wrongly, the UFC has instead focused on booking so-called “money fights,” often giving undeserving fighters big opportunities while more deserving ones are forced to sit by the wayside and wait in line.

With McGregor’s star now beginning to fade, however, and no star at that level coming through to replace him, could it be time for the UFC to change the way they handle their business in this sense? The answer is absolutely.

The UFC no longer necessarily needs to draw huge numbers on pay-per-view to remain financially healthy; their deal with ESPN and the ESPN+ streaming service ensures that. Therefore, the promotion should no longer cow-tow down to any fighters, regardless of their star power, when it comes to preferential treatment.

And in turn, that ought to mean an end to the era of “money fights,” which a prospective Alexander Volkanovski vs. Henry Cejudo clash would almost certainly be considered.

By moving away from a fight like this and booking ‘The Great’ against a genuinely deserving challenger like Yair Rodriguez or Giga Chikadze, the UFC would be sending a message that it can be once again taken seriously as a meritocratic promotion.

Hopefully, then, it will also put an end to fighters like Henry Cejudo simply wanting to follow in McGregor’s footsteps.

---

#1. Henry Cejudo has done nothing to deserve a shot at Alexander Volkanovski

Henry Cejudo has simply not earned a shot at UFC featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski

The biggest reason that the UFC should not book a fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Henry Cejudo is obvious. Simply put, ‘Triple C’ has done nothing to warrant a shot at the UFC featherweight champion.

It’s impossible to deny Cejudo’s accomplishments in the octagon. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist holds a UFC record of 10-2 and remains the only man to defeat Demetrious Johnson at 125 pounds. His wins over T.J. Dillashaw, Marlon Moraes and Dominick Cruz also stack up hugely, making him one of the most accomplished bantamweights the promotion has ever seen, too.

But the fact is that Henry Cejudo has never fought at 145 pounds, both inside the UFC and outside it. More to the point, it’s not like he’s been running roughshod over the bantamweight division for the past few years, either. He won his title by beating Moraes in June 2019 and then spent almost a year on the shelf before overcoming Cruz, who hadn’t fought since 2016, at UFC 249 in May 2020.

So, based on the fact that he’s only fought once since mid-2019 and has been “retired” since May 2020, how do you justify giving him a shot at Alexander Volkanovski? In truth, it’s very difficult. Volkanovski himself has already stated that Cejudo would be an undeserving challenger, even if the fight would be an intriguing one in a sense.

So unless Henry Cejudo were to come back and win at least one fight at 145 pounds, it’s a clash that the UFC would do best to avoid.