Henry Cejudo entered MMA with well-deserved fanfare. After all, he is a former Olympic gold medalist. But is he the future of the 125-pound division?
No.
Cejudo is immensely talented. We need not talk about his outstanding wrestling credentials, and he has solid boxing with knockout power. He has all the tools to become the champion of this division, but he’s not the future.
He is 28 years old. He is not a spring chicken. When we discuss fighters being the future of a division we are talking about young guns who will start a new era. Georges St. Pierre was the future of the welterweight division, and he fulfilled that prophecy. Cejudo is not the future at flyweight.
The biggest reason he is not the future of the division is that Demetrious Johnson is far and beyond Cejudo technique-wise. Mighty Mouse is lightning fast, a stellar striker, and possesses astonishing level changes and underrated jiu-jitsu. He is the complete package. He is the prototype for future mixed martial arts fighters—Cejudo is not.
Cejudo has great skills, and those skills could see him topple Johnson in the future. But as an all-around fighter, he isn’t there yet. He is not who everyone will point to as the example; Johnson is. Everything Johnson does is textbook for MMA. Cejudo has individual skills that can be broken down on tape to show the future fighters coming up through the ranks, but you wouldn’t show a full Cejudo fight as a picture of perfection.
On top of that, Cejudo has been slightly unprofessional in his short MMA career. He has missed weight on several occasions trying to make flyweight. He finally successfully did it at UFC 185, but can someone really be the future if he continues to have issues making the classification? He isn’t getting younger, and the weight will only become more difficult to shed.
Cejudo is still making strides in his career. His two UFC wins were dominant performances, but they weren’t dynamic. He will meet Chico Camus at UFC 188 in another fight he should dominate. It is a question of how much growth we will see.
Additionally, the gold medalist hasn’t had a finish to his credit since 2013. His past four wins have all come by decision.
We still need to see much more from Cejudo before anointing him.
The others contenders, John Dodson and Joseph Benavidez, would be stiff tests for Cejudo. He has yet to take on the elites of this division. The dynamic athletes in the upper echelon of 125 could bring Cejudo‘s stock crashing back to Earth, or he could prove he is worthy of all the gold he wears in his fights. We see the raw talents and are enamored with his pedigree, but we honestly haven’t seen him prove enough to call him the future.
Time will tell.
Cejudo should win his fight at UFC 188. He is an elite talent, and could be fighting for the title sooner than later. But he is not the future of this division or the sport. He is simply another outstanding talent we get to enjoy.
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