HENRY CEJUDO BELIEVES a win over Demetrious Johnson at UFC 197 will make him the greatest combat athlete in the history of the sport.
Cejudo will face the reigning UFC flyweight champion in the co-headliner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, 23 April.
Should he emerge victorious, not only would Cejudo become just the second ever UFC flyweight champion — he’d also be the first athlete in history to win gold in both the Olympics and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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Eighteen Olympians have competed in the UFC, including former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. However, Rousey only managed to claim a bronze medal in judo in Beijing in 2008.
At the same Olympics, Cejudo won gold in freestyle wrestling — at 21, making him the youngest American ever to do so. However, after failing to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London, the Californian turned his attentions to mixed martial arts.
Cejudo has since accumulated a 10-0 record as a professional MMA fighter, with his last four wins coming in the UFC. That run has earned him a title shot against Demetrious Johnson, who’s arguably the sport’s most dominant champion. Johnson is unbeaten since 2011 and has never lost a fight at 125lbs.
Henry Cejudo in control against Chris Cariaso at UFC 185. AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
However, Cejudo — who’s now 29 — told Mike Bohn of MMAjunkie: “Until somebody breaks my record of becoming a gold medallist and winning a UFC belt, I would consider… I would hope the people would see me as probably the greatest combat athlete to compete in the sport because of the accolades I have.
“[UFC women's bantamweight champion] Holly Holm is there, a boxing world champion and now an MMA world champion, but I feel the purity of the Olympics and the UFC belt, it would just… it’s hard to top.”
UFC 197 will be headlined by the meeting of UFC light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones, the organisation’s pound-for-pound number one fighter.
This man is one win away from being the first Olympic and UFC champion
HENRY CEJUDO BELIEVES a win over Demetrious Johnson at UFC 197 will make him the greatest combat athlete in the history of the sport.
Cejudo will face the reigning UFC flyweight champion in the co-headliner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, 23 April.
Should he emerge victorious, not only would Cejudo become just the second ever UFC flyweight champion — he’d also be the first athlete in history to win gold in both the Olympics and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Eighteen Olympians have competed in the UFC, including former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. However, Rousey only managed to claim a bronze medal in judo in Beijing in 2008.
At the same Olympics, Cejudo won gold in freestyle wrestling — at 21, making him the youngest American ever to do so. However, after failing to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London, the Californian turned his attentions to mixed martial arts.
Cejudo has since accumulated a 10-0 record as a professional MMA fighter, with his last four wins coming in the UFC. That run has earned him a title shot against Demetrious Johnson, who’s arguably the sport’s most dominant champion. Johnson is unbeaten since 2011 and has never lost a fight at 125lbs.
However, Cejudo — who’s now 29 — told Mike Bohn of MMAjunkie: “Until somebody breaks my record of becoming a gold medallist and winning a UFC belt, I would consider… I would hope the people would see me as probably the greatest combat athlete to compete in the sport because of the accolades I have.
“[UFC women's bantamweight champion] Holly Holm is there, a boxing world champion and now an MMA world champion, but I feel the purity of the Olympics and the UFC belt, it would just… it’s hard to top.”
UFC 197 will be headlined by the meeting of UFC light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones, the organisation’s pound-for-pound number one fighter.
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Henry Cejudo History mixed martial arts MMA Olympic UFC UFC 197 Ultimate Fighting Championship Wrestling