UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo will likely miss the rest of 2019 following a successful shoulder surgery on Wednesday.
Several reports confirmed that current UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo will be missing the remainder of 2019 following a successful shoulder surgery on Wednesday. Cejudo underwent the procedure to repair the subscapularis muscle in his left shoulder that was torn during the fight with Marlon Moraes at UFC 238.
Henry Cejudo's (@HenryCejudo) shoulder surgery, which was reported by ESPN's @arielhelwani, went well today, per his manager Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00). Abdelaziz says they aren't ruling out a return for Cejudo this year, believe a December title defense is possible.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 20, 2019
Per his manager Ali Abdelaziz, Cejudo is looking at a five to six month recovery period. While a 2019 return is not impossible, most expect a 2020 return to ensure that Cejudo is at 100% when the re-enters the cage.
Following UFC 238, there was much speculation about what would be next for the two-division champion. Top contenders at both flyweight and bantamweight will be determined by the end of the month.
At bantamweight, top ranked contender Aljamain Sterling impressed with his victory over Pedro Munhoz and called for Cejudo to defend the 135 title against him. On the same night, Petr Yan also picked up a victory over perennial contender Jimmie Rivera. With Cejudo now expected to be out of action, a fight between the two as they wait makes sense. Whether an interim title is made will likely come down to the timing of Cejudo’s return and whether he accepts the fight at 135 or 125 pounds.
Cejudo expressed his hope that his victory at UFC 238 saved the flyweight division and UFC President Dana White appeared to agree post-fight press conference. Top contender Joseph Benavidez will face Jussier Formiga at UFC Minneapolis on June 29 to establish the next title challenger for the flyweight belt. Cejudo has a previous loss to Benavidez, albeit one that came in a highly questionable decision. Formiga has losses to both Cejudo and Benavidez and a rematch with Cejudo would be his first attempt at claiming UFC gold.
