Former friend (and current champion) calls out Henry Cejudo after UFC 288 loss: ‘Wait for me!’

UFC Flyweight champion, Brandon Moreno, has called out "Triple C."

Derek Cleary dashed Henry Cejudo’s bold plans at UFC 288 last night (Sat., May. 6, 2023), awarding a super close split decision to Aljamain Sterling after the Bantamweight studs went toe-to-toe for 25 action-packed minutes inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (see official scorecards here).

The loss at UFC 288 was just Cejudo's third in his illustrious mixed martial arts (MMA) career. After the ESPN+-streamed pay-per-view (PPV) main event concluded, Moreno rushed to social media to tell plead with his former friend to not to retire because he wants to fight him.

“[Henry] don’t retire yet, please wait for me,” Moreno wrote on Instagram. “I’m going to win my fight in July, and then we can finish business. Main event in Mexico City, I’ll go to 135 lbs, f—k belts, just you and me in the octagon!!”

During UFC 288’s post-fight press conference (watch here), Cejudo responded to the call-out.

"I guess now everybody wants a piece of me," Cejudo told reporters. "I guess we'll talk about it. I mean, money talks if the UFC wants to put it together, and there's a nice little budget in for both of us.

“I ain't doing it in Mexico, though, hell no,” Cejudo continued. “We can do it here in America or something like that. But, I'm not opposed to any of it."

Moreno and Cejudo used to be close friends; however, the relationship has since fizzled.

"We' were friends at one point — he even lived with me for a minute," Cejudo explained. "I got him on The Ultimate Fighter show, but that didn't pan out. It didn't work out. We tried to pick him second due to the way the stats worked out and the team stuff. He ended up on the other team, and he ended up training with [Joseph] Benavidez, and we just became un-friends. We were close at one point. But, that's the last due that I'm thinking of. I'm after gold, man."

While Moreno versus Cejudo could be interesting with the storyline attached, the Flyweight champion must first defend his belt at UFC 290 against Alexandre Pantoja. After that, Cejudo has to decide if he wants to continue to fight.

And it’s looking like he certainly will.

For complete UFC 288 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.