Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is returning to MMA competition.
ESPN was first to report the news on Sunday after confirming with Cejudo’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA.
“Henry will focus on his fight and training,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “He never stopped training. I truly believe Henry can come back to win the 135 [bantamweight] title and go up to 145 [featherweight] and win that.”
Following the initial report, Cejudo took to Twitter on Monday to announce that he has officially re-entered the USADA testing pool.
“No cringe, just straight talk,” Cejudo wrote. “I’ve entered the USADA pool. I know I could beat Alex Volkanovski. I want to become the 1st three-division champion in UFC history. Or, he could shut up the cringe. It would be a treat for [the] fans. Either way, the [King] is back!”
After re-entering the pool, Cejudo, will now be subjected to a six-month testing period before becoming fully eligible to return to competition, due to USADA policy.
According to a statement from Abdelaziz obtained by MMA Fighting, Cejudo is expected to make his return to competition by the “end of the summer.”
The former two division champion retired from the sport two years ago, following his and only bantamweight title defense against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249, which he won via technical knockout in the second round.
Following UFC 273, which took place this past Saturday, Cejudo put out a tweet stating how featherweight champ, Alexander Volkanovski, has “inspired” him to re-enter the USADA testing pool.
“You’ve inspired me to come back,” Cejudo wrote. “When it comes to wrestling… you couldn’t pin a tweet. I would take you down and choke you out quicker than a McGregor relapse. Sign the contract.”
