Henry Cejudo overcame a hellacious opening round before becoming the UFC's fourth champ-champ
02/19/2025 06:48 AM
The flyweight champion weathered an early storm through gritted teeth before coming out on top.
In 2019, everything appeared to be falling into place for the UFC’s flyweight champion, Henry Cejudo.
He kicked off the year with a successful defense of his 125-pound title where Cejudo stopped TJ Dillashaw in just over 32 seconds to save the division.
After that, he turned his attention to bantamweight which suddenly opened up for him when Dillashaw was stripped of the title due to a positive drug test.
One final hurdle needed to be cleared before Cejudo became a UFC double-champ but his dream of being ‘Triple C’ nearly came crumbling down at UFC 238.
Henry Cejudo went to war with Marlon Moraes at UFC 238
At UFC 238, Henry Cejudo moved up to the bantamweight division in order to challenge for the vacant title that had been left behind by TJ Dillashaw.
Facing the flyweight champion would be Brazil’s Marlon Moraes who had just finished his last three opponents in the first round, producing devastating knockouts over Aljamain Sterling, Jimmie Rivera and Raphael Assuncao.
It was clear that Moraes was going to be incredibly dangerous in the early stages of the fight but if Cejudo could drag him into deep water and take away some of that explosivity, that would be his best shot at joining the likes of Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes by holding two UFC titles at the same time.
That’s exactly how the fight ended up playing out with the Brazilian coming out the blocks fast with sharp counters and powerful kicks, specifically to his opponent’s legs.
If Moraes was able to keep this pace up, he was going to continue smashing away at Cejudo but the champion changed the narrative by forcing a dog fight.
The former Olympian consistently walked down his opponent, piled the pressure on him and made great use of the clinch to beat up Moraes and wear him down.
A combination of his all-power style and the pressure from Cejudo had its toll on the top bantamweight contender who at the end of the third round, was being smashed by ground and pound on the bottom before Marc Goddard stepped in to wave the fight off.
Cejudo may have a gold medal in wrestling and he had already proven that he can fight incredibly tactically but this win showed his championship toughness, heart and determination as he gradually turned the tide by overwhelming Moraes and chipping away at him minute-by-minute.
Henry Cejudo now looks to turn his bantamweight fortunes around
After his epic encounter with Marlon Moraes, Henry Cejudo defended the 135-pound title against Dominick Cruz before announcing his early retirement.
‘Triple C’ then returned three years later where he was unable to recapture the bantamweight title in a split decision loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288.
A further setback against the current champion, Merab Dvalishvili, has left Cejudo in a difficult position as a former champion who has fallen down the pecking order.
He now looks to secure his first win inside the Octagon since 2020 when he returns at UFC Seattle on February 22 where Cejudo faces the #8-ranked Song Yadong in the main event.
