Henry Cejudo may take home more than just a new UFC championship after a little matchmaking courtesy of Ariel Helwani.
Cejudo, 31, spoke with ESPN’s Helwani shortly after his successful title defense vs. T.J. Dillashaw at UFC Brooklyn on Saturday, Jan. 19. The champ confessed he has “the biggest crush” on WWE and Total Bellas star Nikki Bella. He revealed how they first met while sitting first class on a flight.
Leave it to Helwani to get the ball rolling. “Dear Nikki Bella of the @BellaTwins. My friend @HenryCejudo, Olympic Gold Medalist and UFC flyweight savior, would like to get to know you, like, more than a friend,” he wrote. “Whaddya say??”
And what do you know, it worked. “What up Henry, so I just saw your interview on Ariel’s podcast, and um, wow,” Bella, 35, responded via video. “Thank you very much!”
What followed was a statement that teeters on less than PG in an era of PG WWE content. “I’m hoping maybe one day in Arizona you can train me before I get back into that ring,” she said. “I mean, I think you have a few moves that you could show me that, you know, really take it to the women.”
“And, hey, I mean I know you’re cutting weight and all, but maybe one day we could grab a drink,” the former WWE Divas champion suggested. “I should actually send you a bottle of Belle Redici wine for your victory! So I’ll do that.”
Cejudo happily obliged. In fact, he couldn’t even wait to finish his beard treatment before responding to Bella. “Be ready for me,” he warned. “I heard you want to learn some moves. I’ve got moves that will knock you off your feet. So I hope you’re ready for that.” He followed that up by cutting a Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson-esque promo because why the hell not.
“Do you smell what ‘The Messenger’ is cooking?” he asked. “So my streak of good luck continues thanks to the @BellaTwins… Nikki there are no more restrictions on my diet. Let the wine flow, the moves fly, and our championship belts unify…”
Bella — one half of the Bella Twins — was engaged to top WWE draw John Cena. The two professional wrestlers began dating in 2012. They got engaged in April 2018 when Cena proposed to her at Wrestlemania 33. Bella called off the engagement on April 15, less than three weeks before their wedding.
What the future holds for Bella and the UFC flyweight champion is uncertain, but Cejudo is out here shooting more shots than an Olympic double leg.