LOS ANGELES — Undefeated Olympic wrestling gold medalist Henry Cejudo has as much hype on him as any prospect in the UFC’s lighter weight classes.
But the current kingpin of Cejudo’s weight class, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, will be more impressed when Cejudo proves he can make the 125-pound limit on a regular basis.
Asked to appraise his potential future opponent based on what he’s seen thus far, Johnson told reporters Monday “I saw his last fight against Chris Cariaso, and that was the only one. The only way I knew about him was because he couldn’t make weight. That’s all I know.”
The 8-0 Cejudo has a well-documented history of struggling to make the flyweight limit. His planned UFC debut against Scott Jorgensen was scrapped when Cedjudo had to be hospitalized the day of weigh-ins. Cejudo then fought at bantamweight before coming back down and defeating Cariaso at UFC 185.
“I’m pretty sure he’s someone I could see down the road whether I’m the champion or not,” Johnson said. “The UFC seems to like him. He’s made the weight class one time. He speaks fluent Spanish, and they seem to like that a lot.”
While “Mighty Mouse” respects his opponent’s wrestling credentials, he’s not convinced it will make a difference should the two square off.
“That’s good he’s a gold medalist in wrestling,” Johnson said. “It’s awesome, it’s something I’ve never achieved in my life. But then again its just another point, like after the Cejudo fight, everyone was like ‘He’s a great wrestler.’ Daniel Cormier is a great wrestler, and did you see what Jon Jones did to him? And Jon Jones lost in wrestling to Matt Riddle. I don’t know.”