Cejudo is being encircled by a list of contenders at 135lbs, as both Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan stake their claims to be next in line for the Olympic gold medalist.

Injury has prevented Cejudo from competing since a June defence of his bantamweight title against Marlon Moraes, an absence which the UFC deemed sufficient enough to strip him of his 'champ champ' status and remove their flyweight championship from around his waist.

But with his next move still unclear, and with both Sterling and Yan having underscored their candidacy to be the next title challenger, Cejudo has decided to ramp up the tension.

The champion has somewhat controversially declared that he would like to face UFC legend Jose Aldo in his next title bout, despite the Brazilian losing his bantamweight debut to Moraes - a fighter Cejudo breezed past in December - in his second defeat in succession. 

Indeed, a title shot on the back of two defeats in a row would be rarified air in the annals of UFC championship fights, but these are rarified times.

One needs only to look towards the likes of Tony Ferguson and, more recently, Leon Edward to identify fighters whose exploits in the cage haven't yet manifested into title opportunities (although Ferguson finally gets his in April) and it is clear that both Sterling and Yan are aggrieved at what they see as lopsided matchmaking.

"In the beginning, I respected Henry very very much. And I still do, in terms of his accolades,” Sterling said to Ariel Helwani on Monday. "It’s not the UFC's fault, it’s not my fault, that you [Cejudo] can’t sell tickets, your name alone doesn’t carry enough weight to sell tickets to fight the number one contenders in your division."

Yan, too, has reserved some specific words for Cejudo.