(Henry Cejudo wrestles a crazed MMA fan. / Photo via Getty)
Well, Potato Nation, it appears we may have been…wrong.
Emphasis on may have been.
A few months ago, we called Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo the biggest bust in MMA history. At the time, there was plenty of evidence to support it–specifically his apparent lack of focus (and sanity) as far as MMA was concerned. Then there was his involvement with a cult of weird, new age, self-help loons.
The UFC doesn’t share our misgivings about Cejudo. They just signed the 2008 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medal winner. They also booked him in a fight against a proven quantity in Scott Jorgensen.
Cejudo is 6-0 over Wikipedia-less jobbers. His most recent fight was back in January–a flyweight fight where he missed weight by three pounds. Jorgensen, too is coming off a victory. He defeated Danny Martinez at UFC Fight Night 42. Prior to that, he had dropped three fights straight.
This is an interesting signing, Potato Nation.
The biggest question is whether Cejudo can mentally cope with the big leagues. Judging by the fact that he had trouble dealing with the likes of Legacy FC, we’re not optimistic.
However, the UFC is willing to take the risk–and why not? The flyweight division is devoid of anyone that can even remotely be considered a draw. And, as Luke Thomas noted, Cejudo’s ability to speak Spanish would be a boon to the UFC’s efforts in Latin America provided he string a few wins together.
But even if Cejudo loses, it doesn’t matter. This fight is taking place on UFC 177–the card TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao is headlining–so it’s unlikely anyone will see it happen.