Coach claims Henry Cejudo turned down Kyler Phillips headliner as ‘Triple C’ pursues ‘Petr Yawn’ fight

Henry Cejudo has abandoned his quest to fight Rob Font.

The former UFC bantamweight champion, who also held gold at 125 pounds, is now hoping to lock down a booking against fellow ex-champ Petr Yan, who is still recovering from major surgery and unlikely to return until the end of the year, or perhaps early 2025.

No. 7-ranked Song Yadong got caught in the crossfire.

“I heard China is your lucky land Henry Cejudo, you got your Olympic gold medal in 2008,” Yadong wrote on Twitter. “I’m inviting you to come over this year in August, let’s put on a show for the fans. This will be a real show, stop calling out Font!”

“Trust me, I love going to China because over there they refer to me as Shaq,” Cejudo replied. “Don’t worry your time is coming Song — I’ll make you a limp Dong. But first I want Petr Yawn. I’m ‘Russian’ to kick his ass.”

“CCP vs. CCC: The triple clown returns to the land of his forgotten past achievements,” Yan added. “Book it!”

The 37 year-old Cejudo (16-4) was reportedly linked to an upcoming headliner against No. 11-ranked Kyler Phillips; however, coach Tim Welch — the brains behind the brawn of current UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley — claims the Olympian turned it down.

“Triple C” is coming off a decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298.