There is a concept in the study of history known as the Great Man Theory, which posits that the history of the world is really just the biography of great men throughout time, and that these solitary great figures are the ones who drive the course of culture to where we stand today. What makes this view of the world so interesting is the way that it speaks to the human nature to reduce concepts to an understandable level - we can’t see how an entire movement works to create change, but we can see one person make a difference; we can tell stories about them, write their names in stone to immortalize and deify these men and women throughout time, eventually erasing all of the highs and lows that make us human and we are left with the concept of a Great Human who changed the world. It’s a mindset that has permeated the way that we tell stories - we love the climb up the mountain, we love the monumental feat of slaying the dragon… but we don’t address what happens next in the stories; we don’t care what happens when the heroic feat is accomplished. Throughout the history of sports, we have seen the crushing truth of those who chase and reach the top and are unable to stay there, but there are seldom stories about those who succumb to the high of the chase - the ones who can only function on the path to the top, but when the crown is rested on their head, the torment and the admiration is too much and they snap. Nobody embodies this torment quite like that of Henry Cejudo - one of the most fascinating figures in the world of sports that nobody seems to know anything about… but to tell the story of the 2008 Olympic Wrestling team, we have to talk about its lone golden goose. Triumph, Mystery, Heartbreak and Delusion all set the scene - This is the story of Henry Cejudo.
Henry Cejudo’s life is an anomaly to people who believe they understand the idea of sports. Within the world of competition, it is extremely rare to have somebody come completely out of nowhere and be great - it almost never happens, and for good reason; it makes people look bad. Sports are extremely refined over decades, and with that,t he barrier to entry gets steeper and steeper; you couldn’t step into Chess and become the best in the world within a year of taking it seriously, there is an understanding that you build yourself up through the levels of skill rating, you study, and if you’re good enough, you’ll perhaps become something, but it takes time - Henry Cejudo seemingly bypassed all of those systems in the world of Wrestling. If you were really tapped in, Cejudo didn’t come out of nowhere per se - he was an accomplished high school wrestler in Arizona and Colorado who clearly took to the sport, but Cejudo’s career trajectory is completely foreign because after high school, he chose not to go to college, but instead go straight into world Freestyle competition. To put it simply, this almost never happens for anybody who has any level of success; in the United States, it is customary to go through College, create connections with coaches and programs while facing your peers, and once you finish College, then you transition to the world level - there are some who excelled in college who didn’t transition to great success, and there are some who struggled in college who went on to become great internationally, but almost nobody just skips it. The closest comparison to Cejudo for this in United States wrestling would probably be Dremiel Byers, who won a gold medal in the 2002 world championships in Greco, but even Byers went to College for a year before dropping out and enlisting in the Army, which grants some the opportunity to wrestle internationally; Byers may not have had the collegiate career, but his dive into International Competition was a lot more gradual - Cejudo dove in straight out of high school in 2006… and what was even more insane is that he was great at it. Silver at the 2006 World Juniors, Gold at the 2006 and 2007 US Nationals, Gold at the 2006 and 2007 Pan Ams, a spot on the Worlds team in 2007; Cejudo wasn’t just great for his age, he was easily one of the best wrestlers in the country - but following a disappointing 31st at Worlds in 2007 and failing to repeat his victory at the 2008 US Nationals, Cejudo was determined to erase the idea he was “one of the best”; he was deadset on securing only the latter. In 2008, after failing to win the US Nationals, Cejudo would rebound with a gold at Pan Ams before going to the Olympic Trials - these trials were notoriously upset laden, with Mohammed Lawal losing to Andy Hrovat for the 84 kilo spot, but Cejudo found himself across from Stephen Abas, who won Silver in 2004 as part of the Olympic Team following 3 NCAA Championships. While Abas had been inactive because of injuries, he was still the far more tenured and experienced wrestler between him and Cejudo… but Cejudo didn’t care; he had long since proven that collegiate wrestling success means nothing to him, and as far as he’s concerned, Wrestling may as well have only started existing in 2006. Cejudo would beat Abas and qualify for the US Olympic Team - he stood beside a team of wrestlers who likely could not fathom his existence - even outside of the collegiate giants like Ben Askren and Daniel Cormier, every other member of USA’s Freestyle Team flying to Beijing with dreams of Olympic Gold had done things the right way - they had all at least medaled once in the NCAA Tournament in college, and had built their way up to this spot through years of blood, swear and tears; Henry Cejudo had dropped out of the sky, beaten an Olympic Silver Medalist, placed highly at national and international competitions and was side by side with giants - the lone man who was truly built from different stuff than the rest… and perhaps that’s why Bejing smiled upon him.
It’s often disregarded how much better the world is at wrestling than the united states. While it’s easy to chalk the unreal dominance of the Soviet Union to government fueled propaganda, the truth is that even in the world of Freestyle wrestling, a traditionally western style unique from Europe’s Greco-Roman wrestling, the United States were not the top dogs, but were a consistently great team at the world level. From 1985 to 2007, Team USA would place below 3rd in the medal rankings at world championships 6 times with 2 of those being 4th place; they took home 30 combined Gold Medals, 10 at the Olympics and 20 at World Championships with a massive slew of Silver and Bronze. Team USA’s Freestyle results were not the best, their dominance had waned since their incredible 1980’s, but nobody could have predicted how bad 2008 would turn out for Team USA. Of the 6 members of the Freestyle team besides Cejudo, only 2 made it into top 8 - Daniel Cormier dropped from the tournament because of kidney failure, Andy Hrovat wasted his Trials upset of Lawal to be eliminated at 12th, Doug Schwab , out at 14th, Mike Zadick, out at 19th. The two others, Ben Askren and Steve Mocco, went out early as well, only making it as high as 7th. The Freestyle wrestling performance at the Olympics for the United States was historically terrible - it’s their worst outing at the Olympics before or since, just an absolutely putrid showcase for Team USA… the only bright spot was the one who nobody would think should be there. Henry Cejudo did not compete in a historically strong division for the United States; From 1985 to 2007, there had been 11 total medals won from 55 to 57 kilograms, with Kendall Cross winning the only olympic Gold in 1996. Sammie Henson and Stephen Abas had won silver in 2000 and 2004, but if you wanted Gold, the best hopes for the United States had always been focused on the heavier weight classes. Cejudo was barely a man, just 21 years old… his career has only going for 2 or 3 years… he stands in front of international competition, placing 31st in the 2007 World Championships… His fellow team usa members had fallen one by one… Beijing had swallowed them whole and there he stood, a small, pink man, with the expectations of the planet against him… then, Henry Cejudo won.
What Cejudo did in Beijing had never been done before. Going from 31st in 2007 to a Gold Medal in 2008 is not only unprecedented, but it has never been done in anything that can resemble modern history. At the World Championship and Olympic Level from 1970 to 2007, there were 14 people from the United States who would qualify for the team who would win Gold Medals in their first attempt; this isn’t unprecedented in wrestling at all -the majority of these first time gold medalists would go on to medal again, this happens all the time… but to jump from 31st to a gold medal has never been done… The closest possible analogue comes in 1976 Gold Medalist John Peterson. Peterson had represented Team USA At the World Level 3 times in the past at 82 kilos, but had been replaced by Greg Hicks since 1973, where he didn’t place at the World Championships. Big comeback story, 1976, John Peterson wins the Olympic Gold Medal, Zero to hero… only, John Peterson had won Silver in 1972; he hadn’t placed in 71, but Peterson’s turbulent placements at world championships shouldn’t undercut him being a two time Olympic medalist - Henry Cejudo missed the World Team in 2006, placed 31st in 2007 and then won the olympic gold medal in 2008; it is an unprecedented explosion of results for Henry Cejudo, who also became the youngest man to ever win the Olympic Gold in wrestling - the only Gold Medal that would be won by the entire United States Olympic Team in Beijing.
A lot of people’s careers end at the Olympics - Cael Sanderson won a gold medal in 2004 after the greatest college career of all time and promptly retired from competition, Ben Askren had received a disappointing 7th shortly after graduating from his own legendary College career, and wouldn’t return to the sport in any serious capacity. This isn’t the end of the world, 4 years is a long time to try and continue to be at the apex of your ability to be able to represent the US on the Olympic Stage again, and when you’ve competed in the Olympics, win or lose, it can be hard to draw the motivation to continue to try and qualify again and again and again… but Henry Cejudo’s case, once again, is different. Cejudo dropped out of the sky and became a great freestyle wrestler, but as soon as he came, he completely vanished; following Henry Cejudo’s victory in Beijing, it’s as if he fell off the face of the earth. There are inklings of information - Cejudo appeared on Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno in late 2008 just after the olympics, he published a book in December 2009 documenting his upbringing and his path to Olympic Gold, he enrolled in Grand Canyon University out of Arizona in 2010 - what jumps out as weird to you about these bullet points? I can tell you what jumps out to me; finding these out was incredibly difficult. It’s not uncommon for great wrestlers to not be major celebrities, but the amount of documentation about what Henry Cejudo did between 2008 and 2013 is incredibly sparse even for a wrestler who dropped out of the sky. I’ve heard stories that might explain Cejudo’s aversion to the public eye that lines up with a few key points about him, stories that involve him joining a cult in the Arizona desert and essentially living off the grid and getting deeper and deeper into Christian worship, which coincides with Grand Canyon University being a private christian college and Cejudo majoring in Theology, but I can’t get any confirmation about this anywhere - just whispers through the void from amateur wrestling enthusiasts. While this is a wild story to believe without any actual proof besides “That sounds like something Cejudo might do”... why is finding details about Cejudo in this time so difficult? Sure, he was a 21 year old who had just won a Gold Medal in his 3rd year of an international career, it’s not the weirdest thing in the world that he would take some time to be a kid and enjoy a life that he couldn’t have dreamed of, coming from immense poverty and struggle, but to have so much documentation of his upbringing, his high school wrestling career and his post 2012 life leaves this black hole of time even more of a question mark… who is Henry Cejudo? Even fans of international wrestling probably didn’t know much about him beyond he was young and incredibly talented, because as soon as he appeared, he was gone. Cejudo would resurface in 2011, saying that he was going to try and make the Olympic team the following year, and, predictably, this wouldn’t pan out - Cejudo would be beaten out by 2011 Team USA World Championship representative Nick Simmons during trials, after which he placed his shoes in the middle of the mat, symbolizing a formal retirement. In the world of international wrestling, Henry Cejudo is an anomaly - he showed up, he won a Gold Medal, he disappeared, and then he strolled in after not competing seriously and, for the first time in his life, he finally seemed to adhere to reality. Cejudo’s retirement at 25 could have signaled a lot of things - maybe he returns to the desert where he may or may not be part of a cult at GCU, maybe he continues writing books or becomes a wrestling coach to give back to a sport that he didn’t seem to hold any loyalty towards… instead, Cejudo’s desire to chase immortality gave way to a new challenge - mixed martial arts.
It’s actually kind of astonishing how many wrestlers converted to high end mma fighters there are out of Arizona. Dan Severn, Don Frye, Dan Henderson, Cain Velasquez, Ryan Bader, all once represented the ASU Sun Devils on the wrestling mat only to cross into Mixed Martial Arts and become some of the best fighters in their divisions - but MMA was different in the 2010’s. While it was certainly more accommodating to someone air dropping in to disrupt the system from the outside than International Wrestling was in 2006, Henry Cejudo wasn’t coming into a sport that was trying to find its legs as Frye, Henderson and Severn did; Cejudo was jumping into the shark tank of Flyweight and Bantamweight competition - and unlike wrestling, he wasn’t coming in an unknown, but as an olympic gold medalist that starving dogs would love to make their name off of while he is an inexperienced rookie. Debuting in 2013, Cejudo amassed a 6-0 record on regional cards before signing with the UFC in early 2014 - Not much was known about Cejudo beyond his immense talent and young age provided him an unspeakably strong launchpad as a prospect in the sport, but what could be questioned was his commitment - Cejudo’s troubles with cutting weight down to 125 left him in a state of limbo; much more suited for Flyweight, but upon his Flyweight debut, he missed weight, and when he signed with the UFC, complications surrounding his weight cut forced him to debut in the Bantamweight division. As complex as weight cutting issues can be, it’s one of the few ways to earn disdain within the MMA Community - Cejudo could be allowed to drop out of the sky and sign with the UFC in his first year of competing, but if he couldn’t make weight and was continually afforded a roster spot, it undermines the work that his less privileged opponents are doing to share the ring with him… the only problems as that, as far as fighting talent went, Henry Cejudo was clearly special. All sports are notorious for bending to the whims of special talent, and if Cejudo was struggling as a fighter, he certainly would not be afforded extra chances to fight at Flyweight - for as corrupt and inconsistent as the UFC’s talent handling practices are, their one consistent trait is a hatred for fighters who struggle cutting weight - but whenever Cejudo fought, it was so clear that he was something else entirely; someone who was worth the problems and insecurity he brought when booking him as a Flyweight. After struggles debuting in 2014, Cejudo went on a warpath in 2015, going 3-0 with a win over longtime top Flyweight Jussier Formiga - an 18-3 grappling wiz who had previously only lost to those who would challenge for the title, and with a victory over him, Cejudo was positioned across from his polar opposite - the man that Cejudo seemed destined to usurp, the UFC Flyweight Champion and #1 Pound for Pound Fighter In The World, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
Johnson’s path in sports couldn’t have been more different than Henry Cejudo’s. The two of them are similar ages, but while Henry Cejudo was an amazing high school wrestling in Arizona, Johnson was a solid wrestler and track star in Washington. While Cejudo chose to compete in international freestyle, Johnson passed on wrestling scholarships so he could attend a local community college to help take care of his family. As Cejudo wrestled at world championships and won an olympic gold medal in 2008, Johnson had debuted in MMA And was fighting for little notoriety in Washington Regionals. Johnson’s big break so to speak came in 2010 as he debuted in then the largest promotion to support the Bantamweight Division in the WEC, losing to divisional stalwart Brad Pickett. After the WEC was absorbed by the UFC, Johnson debuted at UFC 126 to little renown - he wasn’t fighting on the pay per view card, he wasn’t fighting on the tv prelims, he was fighting on the newly unveiled Facebook Prelim fight, and what’s more, Johnson was simply a warm body meant to lose to his opponent - Japanese MMA Legend Kid Yamamoto. While Kid had eaten losses the past few years, he had done so fighting at weight classes that didn’t suit him, losing to Olympian Joe Warren and Sengoku champion Masanori Kanehara at Featherweight; the bout with Johnson was there to provide him a platform against a fighter of no regard in his United States debut at his natural weight class of 135. On the FAcebook Prelims, Demetrious Johnson reversed fortune, outspeeding and outwrestling Yamamoto as a near 2-1 underdog en route to a breakout decision victory. After beating Kid, Johnson would pick up another victory over former Bantamweight champion Miguel Torres by controversial decision before receiving a title shot against then Bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz. The fight against Cruz was well fought with Johnson outstriking the champ throughout, but Cruz’s size and wrestling advantages propelled him to a clear decision victory that underlined one clear fact - Johnson’s best could not be realized as a Bantamweight. While the UFC was new to acquire the 145 and 135 pound divisions after absorbing the WEC, te 125 pound Flyweight division was still only put on in the united states by regional promotion Tachi Palace Fights, where Jussier Formiga had reigned as the champion of the division until 2011, when former Bantamweight prospect Ian McCall debuted for the promotion with a victory over Formiga, effectively stamping himself as the best flyweight in the country, if not the world. With McCall’s charisma and notoriety building in the fanbase, the UFC Saw an opportunity - if they established a Flyweight division and signed Ian McCall as well as accommodate then #2 Bantamweight contender Joseph Benavidez, who had fought and lost to Dominick Cruz twice int he WEC, then they could potentially captialize on one of the two popular American fighters by putting hte championships on them. To this end, the UFC decided to host a 4 man tournament to crown an inaugural flyweight champion, with Joseph Benavidez facing Shooto Champion Yasuhiro Urushitani and Ian McCall facing Demetrious Johnson. Things went according to plan for Benavidez, who knocked out Urushitani in the 2nd round, and things seemed to go to plan for McCall - after struggling to get his footing agians the speed demon Johnson, McCall took Johnson down in round 3 and dominated from top position, earning a 10-8 round that would score the bout a draw, forcing a 4th overtime round to decide a winner… only, the judges in Australia where hte fight took place wrote their scores wrong, and Johnson was controversially declared the winner in the cage, only for the decision to be reversed later, robbing McCall of a 4th round where he had all the momentum. It wouldn’t help that, in the rematch, Johnson dominated McCall - the rematch was never close, and evne though Johnson had improved dramatically and looked to be one of the best fighters available, the bad taste that his last few outings left was palpable; people didn’t like that he beat Kid Yamamoto, a lot of people dind’t think he deserved to beat Miguel Torres, he lost to Dominick Cruz wide and then he was losing to Ian McCall but a technicality got him out of the building, and while he won the rematch, it should never have happened. While the UFC wasn’t thrilled their charismatic would be ace had been eliminated, Johnson still had to beat Benavidez, who had only lost to Dominick Cruz in his career with one of them being by the most narrow of split decisions - while Johnson had gotten a Bantamweight title shot, Benavidez was the consensus #2 fighter in the weight class, and if Johnson wanted to beat Benavidez, he’d have to outscramble and outpunch one fo the fastest and heaviest hitters in the sport. Johnson and Benavidez struggled, they fought tooth and nail, Johnson was dropped, but in hte end, it was Johnson who’s hand was raised, much to the chagrin of the UFC and the fanbase. What’s worse, in Johnson’s first title defense, he faced fan favorite Jon Dodson, and despite being dropped multiple times, he still came out the other side with his hand raised - Johnson’s flyweight run was about as negative as you could get to start a reign; fraudulent draw against McCall, a wide win in a rematch that shouldn’t hav ehad to happen, controversial decisions against Benavidez and Dodson - these are the foundations of a title reign that just wouldn’t ever end. Johnson would go on to become the best fighter in the world, shoring up his weaknesses and weak decisions by getting dominant finishes against strong challengers, but that contempt from an audience and the promotion never truly went away - as Johnson stepped into the ring with Henry Cejudo, it was as a champion who was as disrespected as any in history as he crossed the threshold for his 8th title defense. In Cejudo, the promotion saw a chance to rechristen a division that had been tainted from the start - to usher in a new era behind an undefeated gold medalist who had cruised to a title shot uncontested. Johnson and Cejudo’s meeting in 2016 was a defining point for both men - one had to win, and one had to lose, and the outcome would go on to shape the direction of the UFC Flyweight Division.
For a bout that had been years in the making, it took less than 3 minutes. Demetrious Johnson, the forsaken king of mixed martial arts, would put Cejudo down like a dog, meeting the ace wrestler in the clinch and landing short elbows and knees that crippled him to set up a knockout in the first round. In hindsight, it seems like a no brainer - Henry Cejudo was a baby with above average athleticism who’s only path to victory was taking down and controlling one of the best fighters of all time in the prime of his career, it was unrealistic to expect Cejudo to dethrone Johnson, and yet, the result was inconceivable just a few minutes before it happened. Johnson had knocked people out, he had beaten great mma fighters, he had outhustled the hustlers his entire career, but even though the story of Henry Cejudo is not that of undefeated streaks, the meteoric ascent after dropping into a sport had defined him in two different sports; a gold medal in wrestling and a title fight in MMA.. only here, he got silver. Silver is an incredible achievement so early in your career, especially if you’re competing with the best fighter on the planet, but Henry Cejudo’s story is not that of an eternal grinder who experiences hardships and perseveres; it’s that of someone who was special enough to reach the top immediately. The loss to Demetrious Johnson was compounded by a narrow decision loss at the end of 2016 to Joseph Benavidez, the eternal #2 to Johnson, that seemed to solidify Cejudo’s role - he was a great fighter, potentially one of the best, but unless he changed, he was ill equipped to topple those who had worked to become the best, so Cejudo did hwat he had never had to do… he adapted. In 2017, Henry Cejudo changed his entire approach to MMA, training with different teams and adopting a striking style reminiscent of Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull - a karate stance to emphasize sharp movement in and out of the pocket, but a powerful emphasis on punches, and Cejudo took to this style perfectly with his blazing speed and natural gifts with his hands. After a blowout victory over Wilson Reis and Sergio Pettis, a new and improved Cejudo was set to rematch Demetrious Johnson, who had freshly broken the record for most defenses of a UFC Championship with 11; Henry Cejudo had adapted and improved on a timeline fitting a generational talent, but he was once again set to do battle with the best fighter alive for the UFC Flyweight Championship; Demetrious Johnson vs Henry Cejudo, one more time, to shape the fate of the men involved forever.
Like Cejudo’s jump from 2007 to 2008 in international wrestling, Cejudo’s jump in success from 2016 to 2018 against Demetrious Johnson was incredible. The fight would go 5 rounds to contrast the first round knockout Cejudo had suffered in the first bout, with Cejudo seemingly crippled in the first round following leg kicks by Johnson only for Cejudo to score key takedowns in the following rounds. When the final bell rang, there was a strange atmosphere - most people who watched the fight felt that Demetrious Johnson had done enough to get the decision, or more than that; had clearly won the fight bell to bell. Looking at the media, people who’s voices help to shape the sport, it’s an overwhelming consensus that Demetrious Johnson won, either narrowly or wide… but you had to wonder, how straight was a sport who’s main promotion so adamantly wanted to see Demetrious Johnson lose? Who had spent months, years even, fighting to undermine him as a champion? How down the middle could his first close decision in 6 years be called? As the scorecards are read off, it betrays that the judges, the only people who’s opinions truly matter on the winner, were split; the first two scorecards are read as 48-47 for each man. The aura as a split decision was announced told people what was going to happen seconds before it was made official - Henry Cejudo’s hand was raised as the new UFC Flyweight Champion. The immediate aftermath was chaotic; Johnson was not a popular fighter by any means, but people knew that the vibes of this were offputting, something that was confirmed when, 2 months later, Demetrious Johnson was shipped out of the company to fight for ONE Championship, a singapore based mma promotion without a noteworthy mma fighter to their name. There were rumors swirling about the UFC trying to shut down the Flyweight division, a concern for the future of the sport if one of the best fighters, no matter how unpopular, can just be undercut and shipped away… all the while Henry Cejudo just, was. He wasn’t loathed for being champion nor was he praised, he simply was the champion, the beneficiary of a strange world in flux surrounding what was, on paper, one of the greatest two sport athletes in the history of competition. Cejudo’s place at the top of Flyweight seemed to be secured, but it wasn’t universally accepted as unimpeachable, which forced Cejudo’s brain into a state of pursuit. He wasn’t particularly interested in solidifying greatness, this much is clear, but if he could continue the chase… that would change things very dramatically for his MMA Journey.
Enter TJ Dillashaw. As the reigning UFC Bantamweight Champion, Dillashaw’s career had been a very strange push and pull with the UFC, going from beloved picture of the future to someone being undermined for a more preferable option, but in 2018, Dillashaw had taken up a new mantle; the weapon that the company used to undercut Demetrious Johnson. Going back to as early as 2017, buzz for then Bantamweight contender TJ Dillashaw to move down to Flyweight for a high profile fight with Johnson was going around, with Johnson seemingly ducking the fight with Dillashaw. When Johnson spoke about it, he simply said that the UFC refused to pay him more for the bout, told him that he was costing Dillashaw opportunities by playing hardball, and that he should be privileged to take the fight with no pay per view bonus, a stance that in 2017 was met with disdain and ridicule that aged about as poorly as you could imagine. For his part, TJ Dillashaw was granted a title shot at Bantamweight against career rival Cody Garbrandt, and the night Cejudo upset Johnson saw Dillashaw close the chapter in a rematch against Garbrandt, winning both by knockout, setting up a battle between the two of them for the Flyweight Championship in January 2019. Already, it seemed, Cejudo was a markedly superior champion to Demetrious Johnson - he was willing to entertain Dillashaw’s pursuit for two division championship glory, and didn’t hold the same hangups on Dillashaw like weight and pay, sacrificing those things for the spotlight. Henry Cejudo went in against one of hte top fighters in the world, and didn’t just beat him, but he made it look easy. The weight cut that Dillashaw had gone through had left the usually strong champion as weak as any fighter has ever rbeen, something that was visible from the opening moments as it seemed that Cejudo was able to do whatever he wanted physically, and it blew Dillashaw off his feet. Cejudo brickwalled his takedown attempts, shoved him off his feet, threw him for a loop every punch, and drew the fight to a close in just 30 seconds, cementing himself as the new and unequivocal flyweight king. People were ready to forget Demetrious Johnson, who had spearheaded the division for 7 years, all in service of the magnetic appeal of Henry Cejudo - it’s enthralling, seeing Cejudo work; something about him is so mesmerizing. There seemed to be no end in sight for the greatness he was able to achieve if he was dedicated, and though his ufc career had been relatively short, having his first UFC fight 5 years prior to beating Dillashaw, he had ascended to a level that made it so easy to toss Demetrious Johnson… especially with Cejudo’s next move being a move to Bantamweight.
Following hte bout with Cejudo, TJ Dillashaw failed a drug test. Explaining the failed test as saying it was a diuretic used to assist in the harrowing weight cut, it did little to dissuade public opinion as Dillashaw’s 2 year suspension also came with the stripping of his Bantamweight Championship. Being the man who beat Dillashaw at Flyweight, Cejudo was a clear choice to fight for the vacant title, looking to contend for the spot of 2 division champion that Demetrious Johnson always seemed to avoid. On the other side of the ring, though, was nothing short of a catastrophe for the young Flyweight king. Marlon Moraes, even before the suspension of TJ Dillashaw, had a good claim to being the best Bantamweight in the world. Since 2012 and his debut in secondary promotion World Series of Fighting to gain a win over Miguel Torres, Moraes has amassed a 15-1 record, only losing his UFC Debut by narrow split decision to divisional stalwart Rafael Assuncao, after which he has recorded 4 straight victories, including a 3 minute submission over Assuncao in the rematch. Violent knockout power, soul crushing submissions, a streak of incredible performances spanning hte decade with no discernable weaknesses - that is who Henry Cejudo was going up against in his quest to hold two UFC Championships. Cejudo has never been a stranger to feats of heroism, but as he stepped in to face Moraes, it truly felt as if he was stepping into his execution - we would sing his praises for taking the fight, lay praise at his feet for fighting the best of the best, but, make no mistake; Henry Cejudo was going to lose this fight.
Round 1 was brutal. While Cejudo didn’t get put in the ground, he didn’t land a solid shot for the entire 5 minutes while Marlon Moraes ripped his legs apart. Whenever Cejudo dared to enter, Moraes would respond with combinations to try and tear his head off, so Cejudo was content to sit at range and switch stances while Moraes landed leg kick after leg kick. In round 2, for the first 4 minutes, it was just more of the same - Henry Cejudo had no answers. For as great as he was, he couldn’t escape the leg kicks of Moraes, and when he entered, he was avoiding sledgehammers before he could even get his own punches off, and the one time he attempted a takedown off of a leg kick, it was easily defended. It wasn’t until 9 minutes had elapsed that Cejudo began to have success - he noticed that, from the orthodox stance he had avoided fighting from to deal with leg kicks, he was able to connect when he threw his right hand, that it was just too fast for Moraes to avoid and counter, and if he was moving forward with this shot, Moraes couldn’t set his feet for a leg kick. Cejudo landed one, and then another, and then another, and he slowly realized that Moraes not only didn’t have an answer for him leading with the right, but that Moraes was willing to enter the clinch afterwards, where Cejudo was able to land huge knees to take all of hte fight out of him. Right hand, right hand, clinch knees, right hand - at the end of round 2, all of hte momentum Moraes had built for 9 minutes was snuffed out in 1; Henry Cejudo had endured hell and had found a viable strategy. Round 3 was all Cejudo - he got in Moraes’s space, he landed massive shot after massive shot, and once it went to the ground, Cejudo showed just how far ahead he was as he landed bomb after bomb until the fight was called to an end in the closing minutes of round 3 - Henry Cejudo, in less than a year, had beaten the best fighter in the world, knocked out the Bantamweight Champion, moved up to his division and endured hell from the scariest fighter in the weight class to knock him out as well, becoming a 2 division UFC Champion with a claim as the best fighter in the world… and then, he vanished.
In the greatest stories, the page ends when the knight slays the dragon and rescues the princess; the logistics of their lives and their kingdom after the quest is over doesn’t exist, but in the world of sports, legacy is created in the untold chapters. There is nobody, in Wrestling or in MMA, that is like Henry Cejudo - these mediums of competition don’t lend themselves well to mercenaries. In the culture of wrestling, the greatest dream of the wrestler is to represent your nation, win the gold, and then spend your entire life paying it forward as a coach - Henry Cejudo never did this in any serious capacity. In Mixed Martial Arts, nobody comes in, ascends to the top immediately and then skips town - it’s a sport that is both lauded and lamented for its crippling grind that sees its legends take what they can, forge their names in the crucible of war, and by the end, they give it all back - Henry Cejudo, following a final bout with faded legend Dominick Cruz in early 2020, announced his retirement in the ring, vacating the bantamweight championship while already vacating the Flyweight championship earlier in the year. There is a very short list of people in MMA who retired as champion, and that list shrinks down to only one name when you factor out injuries and experienced veterans retiring from burnout. Cejudo’s retirement wasn’t even convincing - he would call out champions from divisions and continue to linger, threatening to return to fight for those championships, and it became abundantly clear the truth about Cejudo - his passion is in the chase, and once he reaches the summit, his brain cannot compute where to go. He can’t continue to improve without chasing a goal that leads to him shining in the crowd - he cannot stand on a pedestal and continue to act, he has to go up the mountain, fight the dragon and rescue the girl. Henry Cejudo’s personal motivations and goals and mentality all defy the conventions of his trade because his is a trade that adhered to reality, and Cejudo’s story is just that - a story. Where Cejudo goes after the dragon is slain, how he runs his kingdom, it should matter to those in MMA and Freestyle Wrestling… but it never has. People don’t critique Cejudo for plundering their village and leaving,t hey wonder if he was real and how good he could have been; whether or not we saw the truth or just a glimpse of his power. Henry Cejudo should not be an MMA Legend, but you would be hard pressed to tell anybody who follows the sport that - he was just too amazing and captivating not to be immortalized. As humans, we have a need to know the details of legacies - the numbers, the start, the rivalries, the emotions… but all we really want is an experience to remind us that before life was complicated and one day bled into the next, we fell in love with the idea of great feats through stories - and throughout the history of MMA, nobody has embodied that childhood belief in the story of the Hero than Henry Cejudo.
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