Why Henry Cejudo is the Combat Sports GOAT
Henry Cejudo is the greatest combat sports athlete of all time, and I’m tired of pretending that he’s not. Don’t break out the clown makeup yet, and no I won’t shoot Ariel Helwani if he brings me on the show to roast me. I believe that with two UFC championship straps and an Olympic gold medal, CCC (champ champ champ) is easily in the conversation for combat sports GOAT if not the undisputed title holder. As with any GOAT conversation, there is plenty of room for discussion, but I feel I can personally generate the most coherent argument for Cejudo sitting the throne. I concede that Cejudo is not the greatest wrestler ever, nor is he the greatest UFC fighter of all time (although I think that there is an argument there). There is no sport that encompasses combat as well as MMA, so I believe to be the greatest “combat” sports athlete of all time, you must achieve glory in the cage. I am also operating under the assumption that the UFC is the best of the best in MMA, although ONE is certainly on the come up. My last stipulation for GOAT eligibility is that confirmed drug cheats are automatically disqualified from the discussion (looking at you Jon). With these disclaimers and assumptions in mind, prepare to bend the knee to triple C.
There are three UFC fighters that have also achieved olympic gold (all in wrestling): Henry Cejudo, Mark Schultz (1 fight 1996), and Kevin Jackson (4 fights 1997–1998). Interestingly, Kevin Jackson’s two UFC wins came on the same day at UFC 14, July 26, 1997, back in the Ultimate Fighting Championship Tournament days. The only of these men to win a UFC championship is Henry Cejudo. Other notable UFC Olympic medalists include Yoel Romero in wrestling (Silver medal in 2000), Matt Lindland in wrestling (Silver medal in 2000), and Ronda Rousey in Judo (Bronze medal in 2008). As far as Olympian UFC athletes, Cejudo is in short company, and yes, the same Yoel Romero that just fought for the middleweight belt in 2020 won an Olympic medal in 2000. One other UFC Olympian worth mentioning is Daniel Cormier who was the team captain of the 2008 USA wrestling Olympic team. Unfortunately Cormier was unable to compete due to kidney failure as a result of a bad weight cut. If Cormier had been able to compete and snag gold that year, he would be on a very similar level as Cejudo as far as accolades, but unfortunately to be the GOAT, you have to be the full package, kidneys and all. I think that this limited list attests to the achievement that Cejudo’s gold medal truly is among his UFC peers. High level UFC wrestlers such as GSP, Khabib, Sonnen, and Cormier off the top of my head are unable to claim such an esteem, supporting Cejudo’s claim to GOAThood.
Henry Cejudo managed to defeat the 11-time defending flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, avenging one of his two losses in professional MMA. There is a large party of MMA fans that believe DJ was robbed in this fight, but I politely disagree. After rewatching this fight I saw Cejudo winning round 2, 4, and 5, all in which he was able to secure a takedown and control the bulk of the round. Overall I saw this fight as Johnson winning the striking portions of the fight 80/20, and Cejudo winning the grappling portions of the fight 80/20, with the fight being 60% grappling and 40% striking. If we pretend that MMA mathematics add up, Cejudo won 56% of the fight. The media scored it 13/25 for Cejudo, 12/25 for Johnson, and obviously the judges scored it for Cejudo. Razor thin fight no matter how it is broken down. This show of MMA wrestling is made more impressive considering Johnson has the most takedowns in flyweight history, and is the only UFC fighter in history to record 10+ takedowns in 3 fights. Clearly Johnson is no slouch on the wrestling mat, and is hailed by Joe Rogan as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. No matter the outcome, impressive fight to avenge a loss for Cejudo.
With this victory over DJ, Cejudo managed to become the second flyweight champion in UFC history since the division’s origin in 2012. Cejudo followed up this victory by defending the belt from TJ Dillashaw, finishing him in a mere 32 seconds. This victory was made even more impressive when it was revealed that Dillashaw had tested positive for EPO, juicing up his stamina in the fight and allowing him to train on a different level. Cejudo managed to negate this stamina effect by dropping Dillashaw in the first with a sniper shot to the ear, and finishing with ground and pound.
Cejudo then managed to secure the vacant bantamweight belt (due to Dillashaw’s relinquishing of the belt) from Marlon Moraes with another stoppage this time in the third round, and defended the belt from bantamweight legend Dominick Cruz with yet another stoppage in the second round. Following his bantamweight title defense, Cejudo retired from the UFC in the ring. Since then, Cejudo has agreed to come out of retirement in order to fight Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight belt to become the first fighter to secure belts in 3 weight classes. Cejudo has also challenged Valentina Shevchenko to become the first intergender, three division UFC champ, whether or not he is committed enough to adopt a new gender identity is yet to be determined.
Cejudo, gold medalist in wrestling, has 8 wins by KO/TKO and 8 wins by decision in his MMA career. Even more impressively, his last three fights, two title defenses and one title unification fight, were all won via TKOs initiated by shots on the feet as opposed to ground and pound. Not bad for a wrestler. I would expect a gold medalist wrestler to utilize the wrestling to then impose his will and strike much like Khabib or Usman. But instead, Cejudo developed his striking to a degree that he chose to stand (with success) with elite strikers in the bantamweight division. The most important facet of MMA is the “mixed”, which Cejudo managed to do beautifully.
There have been 4 fighters in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously: Henry Cejudo, Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, and Amanda Nunes. Out of these fighters, Nunes and Cejudo are the only ones to defend both belts after becoming the champ champ. I would argue that this makes Cejudo the most successful male fighter in MMA history by the accolades. There are plenty of fighters that have more title defenses than Cejudo, including Demetrious Johnson and Jon Jones both with 11. But once again, we have to refer back to Cejudo’s acquisition of two belts. Hindsight tells us that if Cejudo desired to sit and defend the flyweight belt that he could do so without significant problems. It would have been interesting if he had defended the belt against Joseph Benavidez, his only other MMA loss, but based on the recent bouts from both fighters I would be hard pressed to make a case for a Benavidez victory.
Generally, my argument relies upon numbers and confirmed achievements. There are plenty of combat sports athletes that could vie for this spot in a subjective couch argument. For some reason it is generally accepted among the UFC higher ups and commentators that Jon Jones is the best ever even though he is a confirmed cheater, whose performance has greatly declined since coming off the sauce. Many serious fans (justifiably) see GSP as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, and MMA is the sport most directly reflecting pure combat, so there is a clear argument there. I’m sure that there are Nak Muays fighting in Muay Thai stadiums that have won hundreds of fights whose names we will never know that would have a bone to pick with my determination. But, when the chips are down, Henry Cejudo is the only man to defend two UFC belts after becoming the champ champ, and also the only UFC fighter of the modern elite era to hold an Olympic gold medal. I believe that this makes him the embodiment of the decorated combat athlete, and thus, the combat sports GOAT
