Petr Yan calls out returning Henry Cejudo ‘to back up’ trash talk, Cejudo responds

With most of the bantamweight division’s top-ranked contenders already paired off, Petr Yan has his sights set on a fellow former world champion in Henry Cejudo.

Yan is looking for a big fight following his UFC 273 title unification loss to Aljamain Sterling in April. With Sterling targeted to defend against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 279 in September — along with matchups including Jose Aldo vs. Merab Dvalishvili, Marlon Vera vs. Dominick Cruz, and Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong all slated for future cards — “No Mercy” turned his attention to Cejudo, who is back in the USADA pool after ending his retirement.

“Hey Henry Cejudo, you talked a lot when you were ‘retired,’” Yan wrote. “Now it’s time to back it up.”

Of course, to the surprise of very few, Cejudo responded to Yan’s challenge, which led to a skirmish between the two on social media.

Cejudo announced his retirement after stopping Dominick Cruz in a successful title defense at UFC 249 in May 2020, citing he wanted to be paid what he felt he deserved. The UFC quickly moved on as Dana White announced at the post-fight press conference that Yan would fight for the vacant title in his next fight, which he captured two months later when he finished Jose Aldo in the fifth round at UFC 251.