Henry Cejudo fired verbal shots at Aleksandre Topuria following the Spanish-Georgian’s victory at UFC 312.
With the weight of the world on his shoulders, the 29-year-old walked out in front of a raucous crowd at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, with a point to prove.
The brother of reigning featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, proved his class during the fight, rocking Colby Thicknesse with a thunderous shot in the first round.
However, the rest of the contest failed to deliver the same level of excitement, with ‘El Conquistador’ emerging victorious on the scorecards.
Henry Cejudo slams Aleksandre Topuria
It was a big win for Aleksandre Topuria, with the talented prospect now officially up and running in the UFC.
However, while the fighter will be excited to have had his hand raised, his spirits will likely be dampened when he reads what Henry Cejudo has had to say.
In his esteemed career, the legend has never shied away from voicing his opinion, and he’s certainly not minced his words on this occasion.
He tweeted: “Biggest favorite on the card and fought with zero intensity. Not too impressed by Aleksandre Topuria in his debut.”
While Cejudo would love to fight Alexandre Pantoja if he beats Song Yadong later this month, he’s now ignited a rivalry with Topuria that could explode in the coming years.
Ilia Topuria lands another win over Alexander Volkanovski as brother beats rival’s teammate at UFC 312 amid rematch talks
While the victory was big for the winner himself, it was just as much of a statement for his family name.
With Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volaknovski in talks to run it back, tonight’s fight became as much about them as it was about the men fighting themselves.
In a match-up in which, ‘El Matador’ and ‘The Great’ went above and beyond to coach their athletes to victory, it was Topuria who triumphed over Volkanovski.