Dana White has slammed Henry Cejudo for constantly demanding a title shot against current featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.
Volkanovski was scheduled to face Max Holloway in a trilogy bout at UFC 272 in March. However, 'Blessed' pulled out of the matchup due to injury. Former two-division champion Cejudo, who has been calling out 'The Great' for a long time, tried to stake his claim to be named as a replacement.
However, the UFC president has decided to go with 'The Korean Zombie' as Volkanovski's new opponent. The UFC also moved the featherweight championship main event to UFC 273 in April.
Speaking to the press after UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Chikadze, Dana White stressed that 'Triple C' can't jump over other 145-pound division contenders just like that having been retired for almost two years.
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"Isn't that guy [Cejudo] retired? I mean the last time I saw he was retired and now he is mad he didn't get a title shot? It doesn't even make sense in a different weight class... Last week, he decided he's not retired. Come on man, this is a f**king silly conversation. If he wants to come back and try to win the title again in his weight class [bantamweight], then talk about moving up or doing something else. But you don't just f**king pop up and start calling somebody names and think that you are going to get a title shot in a different weight class when you have been retired," said White.
Watch Dana White speak about Henry Cejudo and more at the UFC Vegas 46 post-fight press conference below:
Dana White gave Georges St-Pierre title fight in similar circumstances
Dana White has, however, handed a title shot to an inactive former champion in a different weight class in the past.
Georges St-Pierre dropped his welterweight belt following the win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November 2013. He decided to take some time off from the sport and his break was extended due to an ACL injury.
'Rush' eventually returned and signed a multi-fight contract with the world's biggest MMA promotion in 2017. He was given a middleweight title fight against then champion Michael Bisping at UFC 217.
St-Pierre became the fourth fighter in UFC history to become a multi-division champ that night by beating Bisping. However, 'Rush' vacated the belt just a month later after suffering from ulcerative colitis.