Brandon Moreno wants to fight his former training partner Henry Cejudo
Brandon Moreno has his sights set on Henry Cejudo, and he's willing to go up to 135 lbs to challenge him. Moreno, who is set to defend his title against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 290, posted on Instagram after UFC 288 calling out Cejudo.
“Henry Cejudo don’t retire yet, please wait for me,” Moreno wrote. “I’m going to win my fight in July and then we can finish business. Main event in Mexico City. I go to 135 lbs, f*ck belts, just you and me in the Octagon!!”
Cejudo returned to MMA competition at UFC 288 following his retirement in 2020 but lost to Aljamain Sterling by split decision. After the bout, Cejudo suggested that he might retire from fighting again. However, Cejudo was intrigued by the possibility of facing Moreno.
“I guess now everybody wants a piece of me, huh?” Cejudo said. “I guess we’ll talk about it. Money talks. If the UFC wants to put it together and there’s a nice little budget in for both of – I ain’t doing it in Mexico, though. Hell no. We can do it here in America.”
While Cejudo and Moreno have a training history, their friendship ended during Season 24 of the Ultimate Fighter. Moreno initially helped train Cejudo when Cejudo began his MMA career in 2013. When Cejudo had an opportunity to pick fighters to be a part of his team as a coach on the Ultimate Fighter, he passed on picking Moreno who later ended up on Joseph Benavidez’s team.
Cejudo later trained Deiveson Figueiredo against Moreno, which amplified the animosity. If Cejudo ultimately decides not to retire, he has a lot of options for fights.
Brandon Moreno’s last fight took place against Deiveson Figueiredo took place at UFC 283, where he earned a TKO win in his 4th fight against the Brazilian.
