UFC Fight Night 114's Sergio Pettis calls for rebooking with Henry Cejudo, not title shot

MEXICO CITY – UFC flyweight Sergio Pettis won’t say he’s the No. 2 contender in the 125-pound division, even after stopping Brandon Moreno.

Despite an emphatic win over the red-hot prospect, Pettis is more interested in putting a would-be opponent on his win list rather than facing the winner of Demetrious Johnson’s (26-2-1 MMA, 14-1-1 UFC) possible record-setting title defense at UFC 215 against Ray Borg (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

“I’d like to fight again,” Pettis (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) told MMAjunkie after his unanimous decision over Moreno (14-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC), which headlined the FS1-televised UFC Fight Night 114 at Mexico City Arena in Mexico. “I feel like me and Cejudo should go at it again.”

The thing is, Pettis and Henry Cejudo haven’t gone at it. They were booked to fight at UFC 211 in May, but Cejudo withdrew due to a hand injury.

It seems when you agree to fight Pettis, you never escape the target on your head.

“He kind of pulled out two days before, and I want to still touch that face,” said the No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings.

If anything, a win over a onetime title challenger would be a good resume boost. And it presumably keeps the winner of Johnson vs. Borg, which takes place Sept. 9 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on a parallel schedule.

Pettis has won four straight, making him just as good a candidate as any to fight for the title in a division cleared out by Johnson. But smartly, he wants to give himself the best chance to actually win the belt.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 114, check out the UFC Events section of the site.