A Look at Henry Cejudo’s Dethroning of Mighty Mouse

One simple question follows dominant champions: Who can beat them?

Every great champion falls, often to a sizable underdog, because great champions reach a point at which they seem invincible. They have to lose eventually, but can they really lose to this fighter?

Demetrious Johnson reached this point several years ago, around the time he knocked out Joseph Benavidez—his closest rival—in two minutes. That was only Johnson’s third flyweight title defense, and none of his next eight were particularly competitive. Johnson routed Ali Bagautinov. Chris Cariaso never had a chance. Kyoji Horiguchi wasn’t quite ready. John Dodson fell a step behind Johnson in the two-and-a-half years separating their two fights. Henry Cejudo was overwhelmed. Tim Elliott performed far above expectations, but even so he only managed to steal a single round. Wilson Reis was dominated in every aspect, and then finished in the place he was best. Roy Borg was game but proved to be Johnson’s plaything.

Considering his record, it was no surprise that oddsmakers pegged Johnson as a five-to-one betting favorite entering Saturday’s rematch with Cejudo. After settling in, Johnson had been untouchable at flyweight, and at 31, he could be in his prime for another two years or so. And yet, Henry Cejudo became the guy that beat him. He could only do it by the thinnest of margins.

It has been a long road for Cejudo to assume the position that could have once been created for him.

Ten years ago this month, a 21-year-old Cejudo conquered the field to take home the Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling at 55kg (121 pounds). His surprise victory and subsequent break from wrestling was soon followed by rumors and speculation of a mixed martial arts crossover. Cejudo’s talent, gold medal, good looks, and Mexican heritage made him an obvious target for promoters.

Japanese promotion DREAM made overtures to him in 2009 to fight Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto in its annual New Year’s Eve event. It was a major opportunity for Cejudo to make a big impact right out of the gate. Yamamoto was one of the biggest stars in Japanese MMA history, drawing enormous television ratings, and New Year’s Eve had traditionally been the biggest night for combat sports in Japan. Further, Yamamoto had once been considered the best fighter in the world under 155-pounds, but knee injuries had ripped the crown off his head. Had Cejudo jumped to MMA then, who knows where he would be at today, but the fight never happened.

The same year, World Extreme Cagefighting, the UFC’s sister promotion focusing on lighter-weight fighters, announced they would institute a flyweight division (125 pounds). The rumored idea behind the division was for Cejudo to be its centerpiece star, provided he could successfully crossover to MMA. But although he would talk about fighting in MMA, Cejudo delayed his transition. Perhaps not coincidentally, the WEC never introduced the flyweight division before closing down in 2010.

Cejudo took aim at a second Olympic gold medal but fell short at the 2012 team trials. He left his shoes on the mat to signal his retirement, and eleven months later found himself in a fistfight with another man inside a cage.

Cejudo began as a bantamweight and dominated overmatched competition. Later, Cejudo’s drop to flyweight was hindered by consistent weight issues. He was a late scratch from what was to be his flyweight debut, reportedly due to a stomach bug. Then he missed weight for his first flyweight bout, but the UFC still came calling after his victory. He was scheduled to fight Scott Jorgensen at UFC 177 in August 2014 but was pulled from the fight due to weight cut issues. Afterward, the UFC forced his hand by moving him up to bantamweight. He won his UFC debut bout and then returned to flyweight, where he has been on weight in every fight since.

The intrigue of Cejudo eventually fighting Demetrious Johnson was apparent as soon as Cejudo settled in at flyweight. When Cejudo first successfully made the flyweight limit in March 2015, Johnson was already a long-reigning dominant champion with no usurper in sight. Cejudo had the best wrestling in the division from the moment he made 125 pounds, and he quickly developed good hands. The feeling was that Cejudo might provide a tough challenge for Johnson in a few years, but for lack of better challengers, UFC went to the fight before Cejudo was prepared for the challenge.

Johnson ran through Cejudo in the eleventh fight of Cejudo’s career. They competed only three years and one month after Cejudo’s debut bout. It was too soon, but perhaps only slightly.

Cejudo returned eight months later and lost a controversial decision to Joseph Benavidez, who had been the dominant number two in the division for four years. Despite the loss, it was an impressive showing from Cejudo, and therefore it didn’t hurt his stock. After just two dominant wins, he was back standing opposite in the cage from Johnson.

The fight was easily the closest of Johnson’s record-setting title reign. Two judges had it tied entering the fifth round, which could only be decided by splitting hairs. Cejudo had the stronger final seconds of the bout, which was likely the difference maker that caused all three judges the score the round in his favor. The key round that the judges disagreed on was the second, in which Johnson landed better strikes standing—although nothing that hurt Cejudo—but Cejudo took Johnson down and spent the final minute controlling him, although he did no significant damage. Two judges gave the round to Cejudo, which swung the fight in his favor.

On Saturday, Cejudo joined an elite company of fighters that have derailed dominant runs. Fabricio Werdum beat Fedor Emelianenko, Chris Weidman knocked out Anderson Silva, Holly Holm upset Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor topped Jose Aldo, and now Henry Cejudo has defeated Demetrious Johnson.

The natural direction is an immediate rematch. Johnson, after six years as champion, eleven title defenses, and an extremely close loss, deserves nothing less. If Cejudo can hold Johnson off a second time, it may not be long before we start asking who can beat Henry Cejudo?

Dan Plunkett has covered MMA for 411Mania since 2008. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Dan_Plunkett.