Israel Adesanya’s Coach Laughs off Henry Cejudo – Says He Isn’t Famous Enough

Henry Cejudo is officially retired from his professional mixed martial arts career. However, he hasn’t closed the door on his return. To be more precise, the door is open only for one particular opponent – Alexander Volkanovski. However, Eugene Bareman, the head coach of Israel Adesanya believes Cejudo isn’t a big enough draw.

Cejudo shocked everyone by announcing his retirement after his win over Dominick Cruz earlier this year in May. Regardless, Cejudo still has the desire to become a three-weight world champion – at least that’s what evident from his social media. He has often Dana White to give up him a shot at the 145-pound belt.

Eugene Bareman, the founder of City Kickboxing gym in New Zealand is one of Alexander Volkanovski’s coaches. His protege, Israel Adesanya is set to go up against Paulo Costa later this month. Meanwhile, Cejudo has flown over to Brazil for helping Costa.

This had led to Eric Albarracin, who has coached both Cejudo and Costa, asking for a camp vs camp challenge between the two sides. When first asked about the same while talking to Submission Radio, Bareman wasn’t too optimistic about it.

“Camp vs Camp? Who’s their lightweight?” Bareman asked. When he heard Cejudo’s name, he smiled in disapproval. “There’s not a chance,” he said.

Eugene Bareman thinks Volkanovski has nothing to gain by fighting Henry Cejudo

Even though “Triple C” has brought a ton of spotlight to the lighter weight classes of the UFC, the perennial problem remains more or less unchanged. The lighter divisions of the promotion receive less spotlight than their heavier counterparts.

Moreover, coach Bareman believes for Volkanovski to fight Cejudo, the UFC has to put a significant amount on the table for him. However, he argues that since Henry Cejudo isn’t that big enough of a draw, the deal won’t come to fruition.

“If Dana White gives Volkanovski a lot of money on top of what he already gets to fight Cejudo it’ll happen. But it’s not gonna happen because ultimately the problem with Cejudo is he doesn’t draw. That’s always been the problem. They’re not gonna put in the extra money in there. Plus there’s nothing in it for Volk,” he added.

As Cejudo continues to build up his demand for a shot against Volkanovski, he would want the latter to amass as many wins as possible in the meantime. That would only make the fight between them that much bigger. However, Volkanovski still would want a hefty compensation for that fight as there wouldn’t be a lot to gain for him from the contest.