Jussier Formiga Sounds Pretty Happy Henry Cejudo no Longer Holds Flyweight Belt

Recently the news came that many predicted would happen: Henry Cejudo will not defend the UFC’s flyweight title again and has relinquished the belt. Is longtime contender Jussier Formiga happy about that? “Of course”.

Formiga comments on Cejudo dropping the belt

For months there was discussion and debate as to whether Cejudo would return to 125 again to defend the division’s belt. After he also won the bantamweight title in June, 2018, by stopping Marlon Moraes, Cejudo only called out other bantamweight contenders. After UFC President Dana White said Cejudo should defend the flyweight title against Joseph Benavidez next, the decorated wrestler never outright agreed to that. As a result, a lot of folks predicted Cejudo’s run as the flyweight champ was coming to a close.

Well, in advance of the one year anniversary of Cejudo’s last defense of the 125 title (when he defeated T.J. Cejudo in January, 2018), it was announced he’s dropping the belt. Benavidez will face Deiveson Figueiredo for the vacated title on February 29th.

Formiga recently spoke with Ag Fight, and when he was asked to comment on the situation, the Brazilian said this (quotes via Bloody Elbow):

“Of course (that it was a good move for the UFC to take Henry’s belt). The division needed to move on and that was great for all fighters in the division. But I don’t even want to think about (a title shot) now. First, I’ll focus on my fight, which is the most important thing.”

Yup. Hard to disagree with Formiga here. It seemed pretty clear that Cejudo wasn’t too interested in returning to the flyweight division unless a massive fight came up for him at that weight. While the hardcore fans appreciate the flyweight fighters for their speed and skills, the mainstream audience hasn’t really got on board with the division just yet (sadly). So, Cejudo certainly has bigger financial opportunities at 135.

Further, the good news is that the UFC’s proceeding with the division. For a while, there was talk that if Cejudo opted to not defend the belt, the promotion might ax the weight class altogether. Benavidez – Figueiredo has the makings of an amazing fight.

Formiga discusses upcoming bout with Brandon Moreno

And speaking of the division moving forward, Formiga is currently booked to fight Brandon Moreno at UFC Brasilia, March 14th. While talking about the match-up, Formiga said this:

“It’s a great fight. He was released and came back. They usually come back more motivated when that happens, so I hope a great battle. I don’t think he’ll take his chances on the mat with me. But we’ll see on fight night how the fight will go down.”

Yes. This is also a compelling bout, no question. Moreno (16-5-1) is coming off a decision win over Kai Kara-France last month and is undefeated in three straight fights.

Formiga (23-6), meanwhile, is looking to get back on track, following his stoppage loss to Benavidez last June. Prior to that, the contender had won four in a row.