This Saturday night in the main event of UFC 238, Henry Cejudo takes on Marlon Moraes for the vacant UFC bantamweight title. Below, Adam Martin takes a look at the top 5 moments of Cejudo’s MMA career.
- Henry Cejudo def. Demetrious Johnson via Split Decision, UFC 227
Back at UFC 197 in 2016, Cejudo fought Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight championship and was finished in the first round with a knee to the body and punches. It was the first loss of Cejudo’s career, and showed that he had work to do if he wanted to be a champion in the UFC. After the loss to Johnson and controversial split decision loss to Joseph Benavidez, Cejudo defeated Wilson Reis and Sergio Pettis to earn a rematch against Johnson at UFC 227 in 2018. This time around, Cejudo didn’t blow his opportunity as he defeated Johnson by split decision in a historic upset to become the new UFC flyweight champion. Johnson departed from the company afterwards, while Cejudo went on to fight TJ Dillashaw in a rare champion vs. champion superfight. It’s safe to say that the breakthrough win over Johnson was by far the biggest win of Cejudo’s career to date, but it may be just the beginning of what could potentially be a long win streak for the UFC flyweight kingpin.
2. Henry Cejudo def. TJ Dillashaw via KO, UFC Fight Night 143
After beating Johnson, the UFC decided to pair Cejudo against the aforementioned Dillashaw in a champion vs. champion superfight. Although Dillashaw dropped down a weight class for the fight, he was still the favorite to win. But Cejudo showed that he’s for real when he needed just 32 seconds to brutally finish Dillashaw with punches and defend the flyweight belt. Later on we found out that Dillashaw tested positive for PEDs in that fight, making Cejudo’s victory even more impressive. It’s possible this was the last flyweight title fight in UFC history, but that will depend on what happens when Cejudo fights Moraes at UFC 238.
3. Henry Cejudo def. Jussier Formiga via Split Decision, TUF Latin America 2 Finale
To earn his first title shot against Johnson, Cejudo picked up what was the biggest win of his MMA career at the time over veteran Jussier Formiga at the TUF Latin America 2 Finale. The win improved Cejudo’s MMA record to 10-0 and earned him his first crack at Johnson and the UFC flyweight championship.
4. Henry Cejudo def. Wilson Reis via TKO, UFC 215
Aside from his finish over Dillashaw, the only other finish of Cejudo’s UFC career came over Wilson Reis at UFC 215 when he finished the veteran with punches. Cejudo had quite a few knockouts coming up to the UFC but had become mostly a grinder inside the Octagon. That is, until he knocked out Reis and showed that he can finish his opponents at this level of the game.
5. Henry Cejudo def. Elias Garcia via Unanimous Decision, Legacy FC 27
And finally, we have to mention the fight that got Cejudo into the UFC, a decision win over Elias Garcia at Legacy FC 27. The win improved Cejudo’s MMA record to 6-0 and the UFC signed him despite the fact he missed making the flyweight limit of 125lbs. Thankfully Cejudo was able to put those weight-cutting issues behind him in the UFC and eventually he became the champion of the division.
What do you think was the best moment of Henry Cejudo’s MMA career? Leave a comment below.
