HENRY CEJUDO MAINTAINED his unblemished record in mixed martial arts on Saturday night and reiterated his desire to challenge the undisputed champion of his division afterwards.
Cejudo won a gold medal for the USA in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He retired from the sport in 2012 and switched to MMA, picking up six consecutive wins in the space of just 10 months to earn a UFC contract.
The Californian made his debut for MMA’s largest organisation last December and dominated Dustin Kimura over three rounds to secure a unanimous-decision win. Decision victories over Chris Cariaso and Chico Camus followed in March and June of this year respectively, and the 28-year-old aimed to take his professional MMA record to 10-0 (4-0 in the UFC) over the weekend when he faced Jussier Formiga in Mexico.
Despite one of the three judges favouring Formiga (29-28), Cejudo was deservedly awarded the decision — albeit a split — on scores of (30-27, 30-27, 28-29). With the exception of champion Demetrious Johnson, Cejudo now shares the longest current UFC win streak in the flyweight division, along with Joseph Benavidez.
However, Cejudo’s major advantage in the title picture is that Benavidez — who’s ranked #1 among the contenders — has already lost to Johnson — twice. Cejudo went into Saturday’s fight ranked #5 at 125lbs. Of the other three fighters in the top five, Formiga (#3) has now been disposed of, while John Dodson (#2) and Ian McCall (#4) have also both — twice — failed to defeat Johnson in the past.
“I believe Demetrious Johnson, he’s fought the top contenders at flyweight,” said Cejudo, when asked who’s next after Saturday’s win over Jussier Formiga. “I’m an Olympic wrestler, high-calibre wrestler. I have good defence. I’m 10-0 and, thus far, 4-0 in the UFC. And I’ve fought four times in about 10 months, I believe. I believe I’m next in line.”
One of the drawbacks for Cejudo is that he’s not finishing his opponents, but his overall results speak for themselves. Johnson said recently that he wants to defend his title early in 2016 and all logic now suggests that Cejudo is the most suitable opponent.
Johnson is the only flyweight champion in UFC history and has successfully defended the title seven times. Not only has the 29-year-old Kentucky native been avoiding defeat, but he has done so quite comfortably. Like Johnson’s other opponents, Cejudo would be a big underdog, in spite of his wrestling calibre. But at this point in time, nobody is more worthy of the opportunity.
There could be one significant stumbling block, however. Cejudo recently expressed his refusal to fight in Las Vegas in protest at the severity of the five-year ban handed down to Nick Diaz by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, as a result of Diaz’s repeated failed drug tests for marijuana use.
Speculation suggests that Diaz’s ban could be reduced on appeal, which would be good news for Cejudo if he maintains his stance. Two of Demetrious Johnson’s last three title defences have taken place in Las Vegas, and UFC 196 in Vegas on 6 February is being mooted as a potential date for Johnson’s next outing.
“I think there’s due process going on,” Cejudo said in relation to Nick Diaz’s appeal. “So as soon as that gets overturned, we can talk. I mean, obviously I’m not my own boss. I’d have to sit down and talk to everybody from the UFC and decide what we’re going to do. [As long as] Nick Diaz is freed, I’ll fight in Vegas.”
