Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling Henry Cejudo made his mixed martial arts debut in March 2103. After winning his first six fights, he was signed by the UFC. He won his first four fights inside the Octagon, moving his unbeaten record to 10-0.
He earned a title fight against champion Demetrious Johnson in April 2016 and was finished inside of two minutes. Despite the quick loss to “DJ,” Cejudo believes that he’s the fighter to dethrone the pound-for-pound kingpin.
“When I fought Demetrious, I was only in MMA for exactly three years, and I’m still growing as a fighter. I never did amateurs in mixed martial arts. I went straight pro, and I was kind of in the fast lane a little bit,” Cejudo said during the UFC 215 post-fight press conference.
“I’m the one. I know I’m the one. I have the style. I have the wrestling. I know I’m the one to beat Demetrious Johnson,” added the 30-year-old Californian.
Cejudo dominated former title challenger Wilson Reis at UFC 215. Following the win, he stated that wants another crack at the flyweight champion, but isn’t pushing for it to be his next fight. He expects to have to have another fight before facing Johnson a second time, but is focused on taking the belt from the only fighter to ever hold the UFC flyweight championship.
“I don’t just want to fight Demetrious, I want to beat him. He’s been on my mind since he beat me. I’m a competitor man. For me to get stopped in front of 20,00 people, it hurts. I think about it a lot,” he said. “That’s who I have to beat. Not just fight, beat.”
A fight is a fight, and anything can happen. Any professional fighter is one punch away from a loss, or a win. Cejudo insisted that he’s the one to take the belt from Johnson.
“Anyone has that fighter’s chance, but I still believe that I have the style to eventually beat him. I truly do believe that,” he said.
