Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo is the talk of the UFC flyweight division, and his UFC 188 bout opposite Chico Camus was expected to be something of a tuneup fight. It was not.
Camus did great work, stuffing nearly all of Cejudo’s takedown attempts and tagging the big favorite at range. That said, Cejudo’s smothering clinch work was too much for Camus, as minutes spent along the cage resulted in a unanimous-decision win for The Aztec Warrior.
So what did we learn from Saturday’s fight?
Henry Cejudo Is Still a Work in Progress
It’s easy to get caught up with his Olympic gold medal and his rapidly developing striking, but Cejudo is still a work in progress. Camus did solid work of stifling Cejudo’s takedown attempts, and frankly, Cejudo didn’t have much offense when things started going sideways.
That isn’t the case with steely veterans, of course. Other elite-level wrestlers who made the jump to MMA have had strong Plan Bs outside of ho-hum clinch work. Not only that, but he has not yet reached that Dominick Cruz zen of wrestling, striking and grappling all flowing seamlessly together.
That shouldn’t be a surprise, though. Cejudo has just nine professional fights. Fans and pundits shouldn’t forget that.
Chico Camus Is Much Better Than Many Expected
Camus was regarded as a tackling dummy for this fight. The 1,975-point odds difference, per OddsShark.com, spoke to that.
The Roufusport fighter, however, was a game opponent for Cejudo. He stuffed all but one of his takedown attempts and landed more than a few good shots at range. It was a performance that many didn’t think he was capable of.
Did his stock rise in defeat? Not necessarily. But he definitely looks better than the vast majority of 3-3 (1) fighters do in the UFC.
Cejudo Really Should Not Challenge for the Belt Yet
There was a fair bit of discussion about Cejudo receiving a title shot with a win. The not-especially-dominant performances posted by John Dodson and Joseph Benavidez at UFC 187 opened the door for a potential fight with the seemingly unstoppable Demetrious Johnson.
That’s a terrible thing, of course. The flyweight division has seen numerous relatively inexperienced fighters get rushed into fights they weren’t quite ready for, and we have witnessed the devastating effect those sorts of fights can have time and again.
Cejudo might have made a strong case for a title shot had he run through Camus with ease. Alas, he did not, and that could well be for the best. Hopefully, this good—but not great—win buys him more time to develop before he gets a crack at the belt.
Cejudo’s Weight-Cutting Troubles Seem to Be Behind Him
When Cejudo first entered the UFC, there were many questions regarding his motivation and ability to contend in the UFC. Don’t remember? Just check out CagePotato.com’s breakdown.
Thankfully, he seems to have moved past all those issues. Now three fights into his UFC career, and with two uneventful cuts down to 125 pounds, Cejudo feels like he is ready to live up to his potential. And that’s a great thing.
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