Demetrious Johnson wasn’t concerned with the resume of Henry Cejudo ahead of UFC 197.
Several times, in fact, the reigning UFC flyweight champion downplayed the success of Cejudo coming into the fight.
After seeing how quickly “Mighty Mouse” imposed his will, it’s quite evident now to see why he was so confident.
“He’s a gold medalist,” Johnson said during an appearance on the FOX Sports 1 post-fight show. “There are 5,000 gold medalists, but only one flyweight champion – me.”
Johnson earned his eighth successful title defense, moving into a tie for third on the all-time list behind only Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre. He is still the only fighter to hold the 125-pound title in the UFC, having bested the efforts of Cejudo, John Dodson and Joseph Benavidez among his wins.
While Cejudo was expected to be the one to initiate the clinch and use his wrestling skills, it was Johnson that won that battle – and ultimately the fight because of it. He hurt Cejudo with a knee to the liver and finished him off with a quick-strike flurry.
“I’m known for my clinch,” he said. “I did a knee to the liver and heard him go ‘ouch’ and I knew it was over.
“I’ll clinch with anyone in this division.”