"The UFC doesn't want him to die" - Henry Cejudo says Sean O'Malley would be "crazy" to fight him

Former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo believes he will dominate rising star Sean O'Malley in a potential bantamweight bout.

In an interview with ESPN MMA's Marc Raimondi, Cejudo exclaimed that the rising 135lb star would be "crazy" to fight him. Noting that it would be in the UFC's best interest to avoid this matchup, Cejudo said they could revisit these talks if O'Malley fights and beats Ricky Simon:

"Sean [O'Malley] would be crazy to fight me. So he doesn't want this damn smoke. I think he needs to fight that Ricky Simon guy and if he can beat him, maybe, just maybe, we'll talk. But the UFC ain't ready for him to die."

Cejudo continued:

"It took Sean O'Malley five days to reply to me after I freaking crashed his interview... He didn't even tag my actual name. He's playing games. I'll hurt that dude. I don't think the UFC is willing to do that."

The two have gone back and forth on social media, with Cejudo crashing O'Malley's interview backstage after his fight against Pedro Munhoz. The duo exchanged words before Cejudo was escorted away by ground staff.

Meanwhile, 'Triple C' recently re-entered the USADA testing pool in anticipation of a comeback towards the end of the year. Since then, he has called out several potential opponents, including Aljamain Sterling and Alexander Volkanovski.

Watch Cejudo talk about a potential fight with O'Malley below:

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Henry Cejudo wants shot at featherweight title on return

Cejudo previously held the flyweight title as well and has his eyes on becoming the first-ever 'triple-champ' in a title fight against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Speaking to ESPN MMA about his ambitions to fight the Australian, Cejudo said he'd cut down to bantamweight and beat the champion there just to earn a shot at the 145lb belt:

"That's the only reason why I'm even going down to 135 pounds. These dudes are not on my level -- none of those dudes are at my level. And they all know it. So if I have to go down to 135 pounds [and win back] my belt to challenge Alexander Volkanovski, that's what I have to do."

Henry Cejudo ended Demetrious Johnson's record 11-fight title defense streak to win the flyweight title. He later beat Marlon Moraes to win the bantamweight title and attain 'double-champ' status, joining the likes of Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier.

Reigning 145lb champion Volkanovski is 12-0 in the UFC, completing a trilogy sweep over Max Holloway in his last fight at UFC 276. With Cejudo vying for a chance to script further history, he will have his work cut out were he to go face-to-face with Volkanovski.

Watch Henry Cejudo talk about Volkanovski's strengths below: