Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt had something to say about who Henry Cejudo has lined up for his next fight.
“No Love” took to Twitter on Tuesday to criticize Cejudo, who is reportedly defending his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at the upcoming May 9 UFC event. While Cruz is arguably the most accomplished 135-pound fighter in MMA history, he has not competed since December 2016 at UFC 207 — where he lost a five-round unanimous decision in a championship bout against Garbrandt.
Triple C stands For Triple Coward you chose a guy who hasn’t fought in over 4 years @HenryCejudo come on @ufc !! • side note Rafael I’ll see you before the summer is up... pic.twitter.com/gyAAG9IRxn
— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) April 14, 2020
“‘Triple C’ stands for ‘Triple Coward,’” Garbrandt wrote, referencing Cejudo’s oft-used nickname. “You chose a guy who hasn’t fought in over four years, Henry Cejudo, come on, UFC!”
Garbrandt added an apparent reference to a future matchup with Raphael Assuncao, which he expects to take place “before the summer is up.” The two were supposed to fight at UFC on ESPN 8 on March 28, but Garbrandt withdrew due to kidney issues (the event was later postponed due to coronavirus pandemic precautions).
Cejudo has made it no secret that he is targeting fights with established names as opposed to up-and-coming contenders as he’s publicly called out Cruz, Aldo, and Urijah Faber in the past. However, he responded to Garbrandt’s tweet with one of his own referencing the three-fight skid that Garbrandt is currently on.
You just keep up with that great losing streak and I might just pick you. Cody Garbage https://t.co/dscyH7vPfx
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) April 15, 2020
The matchup between Cejudo and Cruz materialized after Cejudo’s original opponent Jose Aldo was ruled out of their bout after it was determined Aldo would not be able to leave Brazil for his scheduled bout with Cejudo at UFC 250, which was supposed to take place in Sao Paulo. The plan was to move the card — since postponed — to the United States because of COVID-19 concerns, and the related travel restrictions meant Aldo was out.
A litany of injuries have kept Cruz, a two-time UFC bantamweight champion, on the sidelines, something Garbrandt can relate to. Before withdrawing from his fight with Assuncao, Garbrandt had also spent much of the last three years dealing with a back injury among other maladies.