Henry Cejudo ended the second-longest title reign in UFC history in an epic rematch

02/21/2025 09:13 AM

Henry Cejudo ended one of the most iconic runs in all of combat sports when he finally dethroned an all-time great in 2018.

Before he became the ‘King of Cringe’, Cejudo was a flyweight contender plugging his way back into title contention after suffering the sole knockout defeat of his life. Demetrious Johnson reigned supreme atop the division, and seemed essentially unbeatable at 125lb.

However, at UFC 227 Cejudo finally got his chance at a rematch and put in a phenomenal performance over five rounds to finally wrestle the belt from his rival.

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Henry Cejudo was stopped by Demetrious Johnson in first UFC title fight

For anyone to put a stop to the reign of Demetrious Johnson was going to be tremendously difficult, as Henry Cejudo knew all too well. After all, he was already one of the victims of arguably the most dominant champion in the UFC at the time.

Around the period of 2018, many statistics regarding records would be marked as ‘excluding Demetrious Johnson’, given how in control of the flyweight division ‘Mighty Mouse’ was. And in April 2016, Cejudo experienced it first hand when he was knocked out in the first round of their UFC 197 showdown.

The Olympic gold medalist was knee’d in the opening three minutes and stopped, handing him the first defeat of his professional career. This loss was compounded in his next outing against Joe Benavidez, who won a controversial split decision in their first meeting, making Cejudo lose twice on the bounce.

Henry Cejudo dethroned Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227 in rematch

It took Cejudo two years to claw his way back to title contention, defeating Wilson Reis and future Bellator champion Sergio Pettis to get back to the top contender spot. He was booked in for UFC 227 in California, and had to go the distance in order to get it over the line.

The contender appeared to injure his ankle early on – an injury which would persist throughout his career. But he managed to fight through it, and in the second scored a takedown with his Olympic champion wrestling.

It was a legendary back-and-forth which divided fans and judges, with Cejudo winning 48-47 on two scorecards and losing on the other. It spelled the end of a beloved and lengthy reign that had lasted the best part of six years and 12 world title fight wins.

Henry Cejudo went on to become two-weight world champion

After the fight, a trilogy never came to fruition as Johnson moved over to ONE Championship in a trade for Ben Askren. Instead, Cejudo went on to save the flyweight division by knocking out bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, before moving up in weight in search of a second belt.

Dillashaw failed a drugs test and was subsequently suspended, meaning that Cejudo was able to knock out Marlon Moraes for the now vacant belt at 135lb. He defended the belt once against Dominick Cruz, before announcing his retirement at the first UFC event during the coronavirus era.

The retirement appeared to be a ploy for more money, which the UFC ignored, and he eventually returned three years later to face Aljamain Sterling. He lost that effort, and was also beaten by the eventual champion Merab Dvalishvili, meaning Saturday night’s fight is a must-win against Song Yadong.

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