Volkanovski: Cejudo fight doesn't 'help my legacy' at all

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski's lack of interest in a fight with Henry Cejudo stems from the fact he believes he wouldn't gain much from a victory.

"It's a win-win situation for him if he goes in the featherweight division and fights me," Volkanovski told The AllStar's John Hyon Ko. "At the end of the day, (if) he loses, does that really look that bad on his end? Not really. ... People are going to be (like), 'It's a featherweight beating a flyweight-bantamweight.'

"I don't get nothing. That don't help my legacy. I don't think it helps my legacy at all."

Cejudo, a former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion who retired in May 2020, has often talked about returning to MMA to take on Volkanovski and vie for a historic third belt.

Cejudo's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, said in October he believes there's a "100%" chance that the former titleholder will step into the Octagon to compete in 2022.

However, Volkanovski would rather see Cejudo face a bantamweight like interim champion Petr Yan or a top featherweight contender before challenging him for 145-pound gold.

Unless that happens, the Australian said he would be willing to square off with Cejudo only if there's no one in the featherweight division who deserves a title shot at the time.

"You get a paycheck and get to make a few people happy by beating up the 'Cringe,'" Volkanovski said with a laugh.

As it stands right now, former featherweight champ Max Holloway is expected to get the next crack at the title in a trilogy bout with Volkanovski, who said he hopes to fight the Hawaiian in March.