Henry Cejudo

Henry Carlos Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is a retired American mixed martial artist andfreestyle wrestler. He was signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is the formerUFC Flyweight champion andUFC Bantamweight champion. He is the fourth person to hold titles in two different weight classes simultaneously and second person to defend titles in two different weight classes.

As a freestyle wrestler, Cejudo is an Olympic Gold medalist, Pan American Champion and two-time USA National Team member.

As of May 8, 2020, Cejudo was ranked #3 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings. On May 9, 2020, Cejudo successfully defended his UFC bantamweight title by knocking out Dominick Cruz in the second round. He announced his retirement from professional fighting immediately after the fight. The announcement was met with some skepticism, as various UFC commentators and fighters believe that Cejudo made the announcement as a contract negotiation ploy.

Cejudo was born in Los Angeles, California USA. Both his parents were born in Mexico City, Mexico. He is one of seven children.

Cejudo's parents were both undocumented immigrants and he moved nearly 50 times as a child. After his parents separated when he was four, Cejudo's mother moved the family to New Mexico, and two years later, to Arizona. Cejudo also never slept alone in his own bed until he was provided one by U.S.A. Wrestling while participating in a residency program at the U.S. Olympic training facility. Henry also won the Arizona state golden gloves in boxing.

Inspired by his older brother Angel, who was a four-time state champion with a record of 150 wins and zero defeats, Henry also became a four-time high school state champion. His freshman and sophomore year titles were won in Arizona, before he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to become a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. He won the Colorado state high school championships as a junior and senior, and was named ASICS National High School Wrestler of the Year in 2006. In the same year, he was selected in the Wrestling USA Magazine’s Dream Team of High School All-Americans.

In 2006, while still in high school, Cejudo won the USA Wrestling national freestyle championship. Soon after his victory, he began full-time training at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Following successful performances at the Pan American Games and Pan American Championships, Cejudo won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. At the time, he was the youngest American to become an Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling. After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Cejudo took an extended break from competition, before retiring from freestyle wrestling in 2012.

Early career

On January 30, 2013, Cejudo announced on his Twitter page that he planned to begin training for a career in MMA. Despite wrestling at 121 pounds during his wrestling career, Cejudo fought at 135 pounds in his MMA debut. He defeated Michael Poe by TKO due to punches in his MMA debut on March 2, 2013, for the Arizona-based World Fighting Federation.

Over the next year, Cejudo amassed a record of 6-0 with three wins by TKO, one by submission, and two by decision. Prior to signing with the UFC, Cejudo was listed as the #1 ranked bantamweight prospect in the MMA Prospects Report 2013.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On July 25, 2014, Cejudo signed with the UFC. He is the third Olympic gold medalist wrestler in company history, after Mark Schultz and Kevin Jackson. Cejudo was expected to face Scott Jorgensen on August 30, 2014, at UFC 177. However, due to medical issues on the day of the weigh-ins, Cejudo was forced out of the bout and the fight was subsequently canceled. In light of this, and his history of missing weight, president Dana White said Cejudo had to move up to bantamweight or leave the UFC.

In his eventual debut, Cejudo faced Dustin Kimura in a bantamweight bout on December 13, 2014, at UFC on Fox 13. Cejudo won the fight by unanimous decision.

Cejudo faced Chris Cariaso in a flyweight bout on March 14, 2015, at UFC 185. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Cejudo faced Chico Camus on June 13, 2015, at UFC 188. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Cejudo was briefly linked to a bout against former title challenger Joseph Benavidez on September 5, 2015, at UFC 191. However, the fight did not take place at the event. In turn, Cejudo faced Jussier Formiga on November 21, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale.He won the fight by split decision.

On September 16, 2015, Cejudo announced that he would refuse to fight in Nevada after the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended and fined Nick Diaz following a failed drug test at UFC 182. Cejudo cited the NSAC's process in determining Diaz's guilt as the reason for the boycott.Despite the lack of change in NSAC procedure, Cejudo ended his Nevada boycott to face UFC Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson on April 23, 2016, at UFC 197 for the Flyweight title. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round, being dropped with a variety of strikes.

In May 2016, the UFC announced that Cejudo would be one of the coaches, opposite Joseph Benavidez on The Ultimate Fighter 24. The pairing faced each other on December 3, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. Cejudo lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision.

Cejudo was expected to face Sergio Pettis on May 13, 2017, at UFC 211. However, on May 10, Cejudo pulled out of the fight with a hand injury and the bout was canceled.

Cejudo faced Wilson Reis on September 9, 2017, at UFC 215. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. This win also won Cejudo his first Performance of the Night bonus award.

A rescheduled fight with Pettis took place on December 2, 2017, at UFC 218. Cejudo won the fight by unanimous decision.

Double Champion

Two years after challenging for the Flyweight title, Cejudo faced Demetrious Johnson in a rematch for UFC Flyweight Championship title in the co-main event at UFC 227 on August 4, 2018. Cejudo went on to win the back-and-forth fight via split decision to become the UFC's second Flyweight champion and first Olympic gold medalist to capture UFC gold. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. 13 of 25 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Cejudo, while 12 scored it for Johnson.

In November 2018, Cejudo revealed that he had signed a six-fight contract with UFC.

In the first defense of his UFC Flyweight Championship, Cejudo was initially scheduled to face UFC Bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw on January 26, 2019, at UFC 233. However, after that pay-per-view event was canceled, the fight was moved a week earlier to headline UFC Fight Night 143 on January 19, 2019. It was the first title fight to showcase the new UFC legacy belt. Cejudo won the fight via TKO just 32 seconds into the first round to retain his title. The win also earned Cejudo his second Performance of the Night bonus award. On 9 April 2019, USADA announced that Dillashaw had tested positive for EPO in pre and post-fight screenings and had been suspended for two years. Cejudo faced Marlon Moraes on June 8, 2019 at UFC 238 for the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. This win made Cejudo the fourth fighter to hold championships simultaneously in two weight divisions in UFC, and earned him the Performance of the Night award. Cejudo became inactive until 2020 due to a shoulder injury.

In December 2019, Cejudo agreed to relinquish the UFC Flyweight title in order to focus on the bantamweight division.

UFC Bantamweight Champion

Cejudo faced Marlon Moraes on June 8, 2019 at UFC 238 for the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship. He won the fight via TKO in the third round. This win made Cejudo the fourth fighter to hold championships simultaneously in two weight divisions in UFC, and earned him the Performance of the Night award. Cejudo became inactive until 2020 due to a shoulder injury.

Cejudo was scheduled to face José Aldo on May 9, 2020 at UFC 250. However, Aldo pulled out on April 8 due to visa issues. Cejudo faced a replacement in Dominick Cruz on May 9, 2020 at UFC 249.Cejudo successfully defended his UFC bantamweight title by knocking out Cruz in the second round. Cejudo hit Cruz with a knee to the face that dropped Cruz to the canvas; he then rained punches on Cruz until the referee stopped the fight with 2 seconds remaining in the round. Cejudo announced his retirement from professional fighting immediately after the fight. The announcement was met with some skepticism, as various UFC commentators and fighters stated their opinion that Cejudo was using the announcement as a contract negotiation ploy.

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Bantamweight Championship (One time)
    • One successful title defense
  • UFC Flyweight Championship (One time)
    • One successful title defense
  • Seventh multi-divisional champion in UFC history
  • Fourth simultaneous multi-divisional champion
  • Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Demetrious Johnson
  • Performance of the Night (Three times) vs. Wilson Reis, T.J. Dillashaw, and Marlon Moraes
• MMAjunkie
  • 2018 Upset of the Year
  • 2019 June Fight of the Month
• MMA Fighting
  • 2018 Upset of the Year
• MMA Weekly
  • 2018 Upset of the Year
• MMADNA.nl
  • 2018 Upset of the Year

Freestyle wrestling

2011

• Henri Deglane Challenge
• Sunkist Kids International Open

2008

• Summer Olympics (55 kg)
• Pan American Championships (55 kg)
• US Olympic Team Trials (55 kg)
• U.S Senior National Championship (55 kg)
• John Smith Award winner

2007

• Pan American Games
• Pan American Championships
• US World Team Trials (55 kg)
• U.S Senior National Championship (55 kg)

2006

• Pan American Championships
• US World Team Trials (55 kg)
• U.S Senior National Championship (55 kg)