Henry Cejudo doubles down on 'personal' callout of Merab Dvalishvili, who responds from hospital bed

It appears Henry Cejudo will have to wait a while before getting his hands on Merab Dvalishvili.

Cejudo (16-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC), who contemplated retirement after getting edged out by bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288, quickly changed his tune. The former dual champion wants Sterling’s teammate and No. 1-ranked bantamweight Dvalishvili (16-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) on Aug. 19 at UFC 292, which is headlined by Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley.

“It’s not over,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “I can’t let this go like this. I just can’t. There’s like a fire burning through my veins, a little bit of anger as you want to say. Will, desire, determination. And it has nothing to do with Aljamain or anybody else, but it’s myself.

“I want Merab’s head on a plate. He’s the No. 1 contender. I love this matchup. I love the fact that he’s the No. 1 contender. I love the storyline, the fact him and Aljo are best friends. It’s personal now. It puts me in position to fight for the belt again. And I think that’s what I’m after now.”

Unfortunately for Cejudo, Dvalishvili just underwent surgery on his right hand and will be out for the foreseeable future.

Dvalishvili had a message for Cejudo from his hospital bed.

“Hey Henry, I accepted your callout right after your fight with Aljo, but UFC never sent me a contract or anything,” Dvalishvili said. “So, right now you have to wait because I’m getting surgery on my right hand, and I’ll be back with an iron hand. So you have to wait, my friend.”

Unbeaten in his past nine fights, Dvalishvili already cemented himself as No. 1 contender after a shutout of former champion Petr Yan in March, but refuses to fight his teammate Sterling for the title. Instead, Dvalishvili is content to keep knocking off contenders and is willing to fight anyone once he recovers from surgery.