Whilst entertaining fans at the UFC 197 open workouts on Wednesday, Henry Cejudo voiced his support for the UFC in their decision to remove Conor McGregor from his welterweight rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 200.
The top flyweight contender, who will challenge Demetrious Johnson for the 125-pound belt tomorrow night, clarified his stance to Ariel Helwani and joked that he has already received hate mail for his comments.
“I understand Conor’s side,” Cejudo said. “I read his post yesterday because I get pulled left and right. I understand that side of it. I think people tend to take it out of context but, I’m just saying that in order for the UFC to get to the NFL; the MLB; the NBA, there’s things that need to be done in order for corporate America – for corporate sponsors to get involved with mixed martial arts. I’m a big Conor McGregor fan. I really am, man. I enjoy him, I like watching him. And him not being here…you know these guys are working their butt off. You know, Ronda. Pretty much, all these guys, we all have our obligations.
“Never go against Conor, dude. I’m already getting hate mail, dude, and it’s thanks to MMA Fighting [laughs]. I like Conor, I’m a big fan of his. I just feel like sometimes, the UFC needs to do things in order for the company to grow.”
McGregor vs. Diaz II was supposed to headline UFC 200 for the company’s debut at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but the Irishman shockingly announced his retirement on Tuesday. Since then, the UFC pulled him from the rematch and revealed that McGregor had refused to fulfill his promotional duties in Vegas.
The featherweight champion followed up with a Facebook statement, where he said he was exhausted from all of the world tours and wanted to focus solely on fight preparation. But the UFC have reportedly refused to budge on their position.
The drama continues with McGregor’s latest tweet, where he told the UFC to make their move following his powerful statement.
I’ve got my bills paid. My money made. And the entire game slayed. #YourMove pic.twitter.com/wOgbNgUPVd
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 22, 2016
Henry Cejudo will challenge Demetrious Johnson for the official flyweight championship tomorrow night in the co-main event of UFC 197 at the MGM Grand.
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