[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] hopes to improve his pound-for-pound status in 2020, and he’s issued a warning to anyone standing in his way.
Cejudo (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC), the current UFC bantamweight champion and former flyweight titleholder, is currently No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA pound-for-pound rankings. The only men ahead of him? No. 2-ranked [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag], and No. 1-ranked [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag].
Can “Triple C” manage to surpass Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC), the reigning lightweight champion who has never lost a fight, and Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC), the light heavyweight king whose lone career blemish was a bogus disqualification? He certainly believes so (via Instagram):
There are two men ahead of me on the pound for pound rankings and I’m here to tell you Virus or no Virus that crown will be mine! @khabib_nurmagomedov @jonnybones #bendtheknee 🥇🥇🥇
Assuming the UFC schedule does not undergo further adjustment due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Nurmagomedov will be first of the sport’s pound-for-pound top three to step in the octagon, as he’s scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18. The event does not currently have a location.
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Cejudo is then on deck. He will attempt to make his first 135-pound title defense at UFC 250 on May 9 when he meets former pound-for-pound great Jose Aldo.
Jones, meanwhile, does not have a fight on the books. “Bones” has already competed this year, though, picking up a hotly contested decision win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February.
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