Henry Cejudo has helped multiple fighters reclaim UFC gold, and he wants to add Robert Whittaker to that list.
In the past nine years, Whittaker (24-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) has only lost to middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 13-2 UFC), who dethroned him at UFC 243. Whittaker failed to regain his title from Adesanya in their rematch at UFC 271, in what was a much closer fight.
But before he can get a third crack at Adesanya, Whittaker has to get past Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290 on July 8. Whittaker still believes he’s the toughest test for Adesanya at middleweight, and Cejudo thinks he can help him finally take down Adesanya.
“I’ve got to motivate your boy Robert Whittaker,” Cejudo said in an interview with Fox Sports Australia. “Robert, you already know. You’ve seen my fight feedback that I did on you. I think there is a lot that – I do believe you can reclaim that 185-pound title. Bring the engineers, man, to you. Learning how to use your leverage, like jumping into other positions than losing them.
“You know what I’m saying, recognizing that distance a little bit more, adjusting your stance on that lead leg. I mean that could be the biggest difference for Robert Whittaker when he beats Israel Adesanya, and I’ve said it before. I’ve never chased anybody, Robert, but there is one guy that I’d really like to teach and really have them dissect beyond the cringe. It’s you, bro.”
Cejudo helped the likes of Jon Jones, Zhang Weili, and Deiveson Figueiredo in their title fights. “Triple C” will finally return to action when he looks to reclaim gold himself against bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in Saturday’s UFC 288 headliner at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
Whittaker said he’d definitely be open to working with Cejudo once they both complete their fights.
“It would be a privilege to be able to pick his brain and see what he can give me to make me better,” Whittaker said. “That is my dream of this sport, is just to become the perfect version of myself in combat sports, in the fight game. So yeah, I’ll let him get his weekend done, and I’ll get my July fight out of the way. I would be honored to be able to go over there and to work with him, work with that mind.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.
