Henry Cejudo: ‘I feel like I’m the face of the UFC now and I want to get paid’

Henry Cejudo has gold around his neck and hanging off of both shoulders but now he’d like a little bit more in his bank account.

On Saturday night, Cejudo became the fourth fighter in UFC history to claim two world titles simultaneously when he finished Marlon Moraes by third-round TKO to become bantamweight champion in addition to his ongoing reign as flyweight champion.

Of course, Cejudo is also an Olympic gold medalist, which he believes makes him the greatest combat sports athlete of all time. Cejudo also hopes it will make him a little richer as he plans on meeting with UFC president Dana White in the near future to talk about his paycheck and how he can make a little more money after becoming “champ-champ.”

“I need to meet with Dana White, too. I need a meeting with him because I need heavyweight money,” Cejudo said at the UFC 238 post-fight press conference. “I feel like I’m the face of the UFC now and I want to get paid like one.

“Dana has been great to me. He’s been really good. I have nothing bad to say but I want to make heavyweight money. I want to change this game.”

In addition to getting a heftier payday for his next fight, Cejudo also appears interested in adding a few more former champions to his resume as well.

Following his win over Moraes, Cejudo made some interesting callouts by specifically mentioning former bantamweight champions Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt as potential opponents as well as former WEC champion Urijah Faber.

Now all of those fighters deserve recognition, but Cruz is still dealing with a shoulder injury that will keep him sidelined for much of 2019 not to mention he’s coming off a loss to Garbrandt and he hasn’t fought since 2016.

As for Garbrandt, he has suffered three knockout losses in a row and Faber is just getting ready to return from retirement in July after sitting out for the past two and a half years.

Meanwhile, Aljamain Sterling notched his fourth win in a row on Saturday night with a unanimous decision victory over Pedro Munhoz, and Petr Yan remained undefeated in the UFC with a victory against Jimmie Rivera. Both bantamweights called for a title shot after earning those wins but according to Cejudo, he’s more interested in legacy fights than just facing any contender who is thrown in front of him.

“Because those are legends,” Cejudo said when explaining why he called out Cruz, Faber and Garbrandt. “I want big fights. I’m on a legend rampage. That’s what I want. I’m a legend killer. I want big fights.

“Dominick Cruz, you guys wouldn’t like Dominick Cruz versus Henry Cejudo? Doesn’t that sound exciting?”

Judging by his post-fight comments, Cejudo will first look to renegotiate his contract before booking his next fight. Add to that, Cejudo revealed a potential shoulder injury and a badly damage leg courtesy of kicks from Moraes that will probably keep him sidelined for a little while following his championship win at UFC 238.