Henry Cejudo Defeats Demitrious Johnson for the UFC Flyweight Title


UFC Flyweight Henry Cejudo shocked the world when he beat then champion Demitrious Johnson to win the Flyweight title. This comes as a vindicating upset for Cejudo, who was knocked out by Johnson when the two first fought back in 2016.

Cejudo, an olympic gold medalist found himself in trouble early when he rolled his ankle early in the fight. Johnson found himself an easy target however, Cejudo was able to think a step ahead and focused on counters.

Cejudo then used his wrestling pedigree to neutralize Johnson's speed on his feet as the fight progressed, scoring a late takedown in the second round. As Johnson tried to put more pressure on his challenger on the feet, Cejudo kept shooting for safety in the ground.

Round four turned into a technical slugfest as Cejudo and Johnson exchanged heavy shots . Cejudo then successfully taken down Johnson and maintained control until the round ended.

It was a close fight going into the fifth round with both fighters seeming to have claims to why they should be ahead in score. The two were careful as one mistake could spell a loss for either one.

Johnson took advantage of the early part of the final round but a takedown from Cejudo in the closing minutes may have made the difference. The two went back and forth though until the final horn sounded.

As the scorecard was being read, two judges scored the fight 48-47 while one scored it 47-48 giving Cejudo the victory, and the UFC Flyweight Title in the process. 

Cejudo now moves to 13-2 while Johnson falls to 27-3-1.

Expect the unexpected

Cejudo came in as a +400 underdog to Johnson who sat around -450 in the betting odds. It also did not help Cejudo's case that he was once defeated convincingly by Johnson when the two first fought.

After the loss to Johnson, Cejudo lost another fight against Joseph Benavidez before bouncing back to win his next two outings prior to UFC 227. His two-fight win streak however was nothing compared to Jonson's 13-fight win streak, which started in 2012.

In the first fight, Cejudo became ahead of himself and underestimated the power of Johnson and paid the price for it. He came in ready this time however as he mixed it up with the champion.

It all paid off however as Johnson did not expect a game Cejudo, especially after how the first fight went. The now former champion however has to go back to the drawing board and see what went wrong for him in the fight.

What's next for the new flyweight champion?

During the post fight interview, Cejudo calls out whoever would become UFC Bantamweight Champion at the end of the night. Dillashaw, who successfully defended his title on the same night was not a fan of the idea.

Dillashaw said in the post-fight press conference that he did not think Cejudo is deserving of a superfight. This came after Dillashaw knocked out Cody Garbrandt to defend his UFC Bantamweight title.

Cejudo however must not think too far ahead yet as he has to validate his recent win by facing Johnson again in a rematch. Nothing has been set in stone yet but it will be interesting to see any of these fights happening.


Who do you want to see Henry Cejudo face next? Do you think he deserves a superfight? Let us know your thoughts

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