Henry Cejudo: UFC not doing Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera any justice by making them fight at the Apex

Henry Cejudo is bothered to see Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera’s headliner take place at the UFC Apex.

Sandhagen (15-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) faces Vera (20-7-1 MMA, 14-6 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 219 on Feb. 18 in the UFC’s smaller cage in Las Vegas, and former two-division champ Cejudo thinks a fight of this magnitude should be in front of a sold-out crowd.

“I don’t like it,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “I think this fight – the bantamweight division is the toughest division in the world right now, bar none. Any of those guys could challenge for the title and beat the champ right now, who is (Aljamain Sterling), but I think a fight like that belongs in a big stadium, belongs in a sold-out arena. The Apex is not doing justice for any of the fighters.

“Yeah, the UFC is saving money, but again, it’s not promoting the sport. It’s not giving these fighters these different experiences because every time I fought, I wasn’t fighting in a damn 300-seat arena. I’ve always fought in front of 20-25,000… for a fight like that, Dana White, UFC, bring justice to these guys. Bring justice because these guys deserve it. They belong to put on a show in front of thousands and thousands of people.”

No. 1 bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley recently said he sees the UFC Apex favoring Vera due to Sandhagen’s constant movement. Both Vera and Sandhagen have recently gotten their hand raised at the UFC Apex.

Sandhagen is coming off a TKO win due to doctor’s stoppage over Song Yadong in the UFC Fight Night 210 headliner at the UFC Apex in September. Prior to knocking Dominick Cruz out in August, Vera outlasted Rob Font in a five-round battle in April also behind closed doors at the UFC Apex.