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411 Fact or Fiction MMA: Who’s Next for Henry Cejudo?

January 23, 2019 | Posted by Lorenzo Vasquez
Henry Cejudo - UFC

Welcome back to another edition of 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! I’m your host, Lorenzo Vasquez III, and it is my pleasure to bring you another look into the realm of professional mixed martial arts. Thank you, for your votes and comments the last time around when the master of Fact and Fiction MMA, Dino Zee, was able to smash Jeffrey Harris to rack up another win. Be sure to vote and leave your comments below, this week.

This week, I’m stepping in on short notice to battle the heavy-handed, Mark Radulich. We will lock horns over Henry Cejudo’s recent win over TJ Dillashaw, Donald Cerrone challenging Conor McGregor, Greg Hardy looking for outs, and much more! Grab some grub and strap in because it’s time for another round of, 411 Fact or Fiction MMA!

TALE OF THE TAPE
RED CORNER
Mark “Headshrinker” Radulich
Supreme Overlord,
Radulich in Broadcasting Network

VS

BLUE CORNER
Lorenzo “Corpse Grinder” Vasquez III
Host/Contributor, 411 MMA Zone


Greg Hardy’s DQ lose was due to inexperience and nothing to do with his past or character.

Mark Radulich: FACT We can only guess what was going on in the mind of Greg Hardy. I’m making an assumption that it was inexperience that caused him to throw an illegal knee and not some sort of super-aggressive malfeasance on his part. I’m aware of his DV history and some other issues he’s had in the past but I didn’t read anywhere in his wiki that he was known for purposely fouling players in the NFL with any kind of alarming regularity. Nor is there a record of him purposing committing fouls in MMA. Up to this point, it would seem he was trying his best in earnest to carve out a career in MMA. I would imagine he knows that illegal blows and other unsafe, unsportsmanlike practices at this level will do him no favors. I think he got caught up in the moment and threw the knee without thinking. According to his wiki, that was only his fourth fight. We’ve seen much more seasoned fighters make similar mistakes. We shouldn’t be prejudiced against this fellow just because of history with domestic violence.

Lorenzo Vasquez: FACT Mr. Hardy has a shady past. As Mark mentioned, nowhere in that past is there anything about fouling players in the NFL. And, seasoned profession mixed martial artists have committed that same foul. In my opinion, he was in the midst of his UFC debut in front of a huge unfavorable crowd, had just been taunted, and ultimately was in the heat of the moment.


Donald Cerrone is not the right matchup for Conor McGregor’s return fight as the Irishman deserves a bigger fight.

Mark Radulich:FICTION Connor McGregor hasn’t had a win since 2016. He was finished by Khabib Nurmagomedov last year. He has no UFC titles to defend. I’m not in favor of an immediate rematch when you are finished. It’s one thing when it goes to a decision or even better, a draw. It’s a whole other thing when you lose by giving up. He tapped out. End of line. Move on! McGregor has proven to undependable as a banner carrier for the UFC. He’s an attraction for sure; the way Lesnar is an attraction for the WWE. At this juncture, McGregor should be used as a “money weight” fighter in attraction matches. People know Donald Cerrone. He’s one of the few names the UFC has left that can draw on his own without the notoriety of the UFC itself and or perceived prestige of a title fight. People will shell out clams for McGregor vs. Cerrone. Both have the gift of gab and can sell the fight. The object of the game is making money, especially now that they are in business with the struggling ESPN. PPV attractions are few and far between these days. McGregor doesn’t deserve anything more than an attraction fight with another name fighter, Donald Cerrone.

Lorenzo Vasquez: FICTION Donald Cerrone isn’t the big money fight that a Nurmagomedov rematch or Diaz fight is. The Cowboy does wager a decent payday, however. And he’s a perfect comeback fight for McGregor. Cerrone is beatable but can make McGregor work for the win. The potential for an exciting bout is there. McGregor has the tools to put out Cerrone. Cerrone has the tools and experience to drag the Irishman into deep water and finish him much like Diaz and Nurmagomedov. A win over Cerrone is a nice way for McGregor to dust himself after his loss to Nurmagodemov and get his head on his shoulders before making a run for the Lightweight title. It’s a great way for him to get his bearings, and it’s the money-making fight Cerrone deserves.


Paige VanZant, despite the grittiness and feistiness, will likely never be a UFC champion.

Mark Radulich: FACT If Paige VanZant weren’t pretty she might well have been cut by now or at least have had to return to Invite for some freshening up. VanZant makes a great spokesperson for the UFC or anything else one might be selling. As I said before, she’s pretty, she has charisma and she’s not the worst fighter the UFC has. However, she’s not that great either. She has some major holes in her game that probably won’t get any better before she heads off to Hollywood or whatever else the future has in store for her.

Lorenzo Vasquez: FICTION I’m going to call this one fiction because VamZant is only 24-years-old. She has the time, athleticism, and toughness to forge into a championship caliber fighter. If she can put it together the potential is there. She is mush against the top tier. But that could change. Mark has valid points. But, seeing that the UFC is likely to give her every opportunity she can get, barring any injury, I think she has the time to transform into a championship caliber fighter.


SWITCH!

Anthony Pettis should make his UFC Welterweight debut against someone outside of the ten top rather than Stephen Thompson.

Lorenzo Vasquez: FICTION I like the matchup. Pettis and Thompson have similar styles. That could make for an exciting bout or the opposite. Nonetheless, I believe Pettis can out-point Thompson. Things have not gone Pettis’s way since 2015. He’s gone 3 to 6 since the said year. So, I have to admit, maybe Pettis should start lower on the ladder. But anyone in the top fifteen of the Welterweight division is a hellish fight for Pettis. It wouldn’t be easier anyway. I don’t see Pettis winning a championship title again, so fighting any top fighter, who will fight him, is Pettis’s safe bet to making the most money he can while he still can.

Mark Radulich: FICTION Time sometimes pushes us to make decisions that aren’t always in our best interest. Pettis is 31 years old and has had about as many fights. Time is not on his side. If he’s going to try and make an impact at Welterweight he has to move rather quickly and he needs to do it against some name opponents. The object here is to quickly shoot up to a title fight or at least some headlining bouts against name welterweights, otherwise what’s the point the point? He’s not a spring chicken and every loss he gets causes him to lose more and more opportunities to make big money. Ideally, he should fight someone between the 20th and 11th ranking but he doesn’t have that kind of time. Wonderboy isn’t invincible and it’s not the worst fight Pettis could take. You have to take chances in life and if he should beat Thompson that’ll greatly improve his stock for the WW fight.


Enough with the Cejudo/Dillashaw rematch talk; Henry Cejudo vs. Joseph Benavidez is what needs to next.

Lorenzo Vasquez: FACT this is an easy fact. I don’t think there are enough meat and bone for a rematch between Cejudo and Dillashaw to stand on. Dillashaw needs to go back to 135 while Cejudo needs to keep the Flyweight division alive. Benavidez is the guy. There’s a history and it’s going to be one helluva a fight. Henry, if you’re so adamant about saving the division, let’s go of your ambitions at 135 for the short-term. Defend your title, as Dillashaw should, once or twice, maybe three times, then go the 135-pound gold. Of course, that’s if the UFC brass decides not to throw out the Flyweight division. Should the division close, then I guess you have no choice, Henry.

Mark Radulich: FACT There’s still a flyweight division? Never mind, the question remains, what to do about Cejudo and either Dillashaw or Benavidez. As I said up top, it makes no sense to give fighters who either submitted or were KO’ed an immediate rematch. Dillashaw took a good amount of unanswered blows to the head and the fight was stopped for his own protection. I don’t need to see them do it again. NEXT! Benavidez hasn’t had a shot the champ in 6 years. He has 2 relatively recent back to back wins. I say make that fight.


It makes no difference if Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw was an early stoppage or not; Dillashaw was on his way to losing the fight, regardless.

Lorenzo Vasquez: FACT Sure, the ref could have let the fight play out a little bit longer, but I think Cejudo had Dillashaw’s number by that point. Dillashaw was out of it, on queer street. Look at the footage closely and in slow motion. He went limp at least three times. He was stretching, reaching for a single not grabbing. There’s a moment when Dillashaw is getting straight up, not looking at where the blows are coming from, and lifting his right arm up to defend but leaving his left side open for Cejudo smash at will. I don’t think letting the fight go on would have made a tremendous difference. Cejudo was on his way to winning, regardless.

Mark Radulich: FACT I’ve rewatched the footage a few times now. Weirder things have happened and it’s not beyond belief to imagine that had the ref let the fight go on, Dillashaw could have made a comeback (see Pat Barry vs Cheik Kongo for an example of a bizarre comeback). However, Cejudo is not Pat Barry and Dillashaw is not Cheik Kongo. It looked to me like Cejudo had Dillashaw’s number and if not then, then shortly after Cejudo would have finished him. Personally, I’m fine with the stoppage as it occurred.


So who won? You’ve got until midnight eastern on Tuesday to vote, so make sure you make your voice heard!


And that’s it for today but, as always, we’ll be back next week with another contest! And please, be sure to vote!

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