Dana White Reacts To Henry Cejudo Dethroning Demetrious Johnson

Find out how Dana White reacted to Henry Cejudo’s shocking win over Demetrious Johnson.

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Demetrious Johnson’s record-breaking run of title defenses came to a screeching halt when he lost a close split decision to Henry Cejudo at last night’s (Sat., August 4, 2018) UFC 227 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

The fight may just have been the best flyweight title fight in the history of the UFC (watch highlights here), with each elite competitor having their moments. Cejudo was more successful with his Olympic gold medal-winning wrestling and top control, and Johnson landed a steady stream of kicks. It came down to the judges’ scorecards, and “The Messenger” won the fifth and final frame on all three judges’ cards to score the huge upset.

After the jaw-dropping win, UFC President Dana White addressed the title bout and the score at the post-fight press conference, giving respect to both fighters for their amazing effort:

“Yeah. It’s incredible what he’s done. And tonight’s fight was close. I don’t know how you guys scored it but I had it 2-2 going into that last round, but who gives a **** what I think, but that’s how I had it. Very close fight. First of all, what a technical battle that fight was. Both guys are so incredibly talented. And, um, how much better Henry Cejudo is now from the first time he fought Demetrious Johnson is impressive.”

White was asked about Cejudo’s callout of bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw for his next fight, and he noted that while he didn’t know what was next for the new champ, he loved the attitude. In fact, he even compared the optimistic callout to the strategy of Conor McGregor:

“I love guys that wanna fight everybody. I love guys who are willing to jump in, and I think the fans love guys like that too. So that’s always good to hear, I love; I don’t know but we’ll see what’s next and we’ll figure it out.

“But you know, the reason Conor McGregor’s such a huge star is cause he’s that guy – he’ll do that and jump around and fight anywhere and fight anybody, and when you have that mentality, people like it.”

White then addressed the supposed criticism UFC 227 was receiving in the week leading up to the card, with much of it being because the lineup featured fighters from lower weight classes. White brushed it off, focusing on the fact they had sold out The Staples Center in Los Angeles:

“I didn’t hear that. Alright, when isn’t there criticism? We’re always gonna have criticism. This card was full of the small guys, you know what I mean? The first fight of the night, the second fight was women and small guys. We sold out The Staples Center, every A-list celebrity and you know, whos-who in Hollywood was here tonight; you know, what are you gonna do?

“It was an awesome night, a very successful night, and I’m happy.”

Further expounding on the popularity of the flyweight division, White said that after years of essentially being the stepchild of the UFC, tonight’s card full of great fights at the lower weight classes attended by many top celebrities was an indicator why it was now making waves.

And even though Johnson may have lost to Cejudo on the night, his body of work proved the overall evolution of the division – something the fans loved according to White:

“Listen, I think the popularity of the flyweights was there tonight. I mean, what more do we need? I told you the place was packed with A-list celebrities, sold out The Staples Center, you know, the small guys did almost a $3 million gate tonight with a sold-out Staples Center. And the crowd was very into that fight, it’s the “Fight of the Night,” and I think that when you saw scrambles with these guys, the crowd reacted to ’em, they were very educated on what was going on.

“I mean, I think we’re there, and I think that Demetrious Johnson’s reign, and what he’s done, and I’ve talked about this to many of you this week, this guy not only got better with every fight but he started finishing people in spectacular fashion. And I think that from the walk-in to their announcement that Buffer gave ’em to the fight to the end, the crowd loved it and they were into it, and you know, it was a very successful night.”

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Pic: Henry Cejudo vs. Demetrious Johnson Official Scorecard

Check out the official scorecards from Henry Cejudo vs. Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227.

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The mixed martial arts (MMA) world was turned upside down when Henry Cejudo dethroned longtime UFC flyweight champion Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson in the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., August 4, 2018) UFC 227 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

The fight was a close, hard-fought war (full highlights here) that went the full five rounds, and at the end, it was anyone’s guess as to who had won according to the judges. Ultimately Cejudo was declared the winner by split decision, a call some agreed with and others thought was simply not enough of an effort to end the longest string of consecutive title defenses in UFC history.

Cejudo appeared to win rounds two and four on the strength of his wrestling, while Johnson scored in the striking department with a varied kicking attack. So with the pivotal decision coming down to the fifth and final round, Cejudo ended with a vicious flurry to put an image in the judges’ heads. It must have worked, as all three judges gave ‘The Messenger’ the final round.

What did you think of the decision? Check out the official scorecards here:

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UFC 227 Post-Fight Press Conference

Watch the UFC 227 post-fight press conference streaming live right here.

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Tonight’s (Sat., August 4, 2018) UFC 227 is in the books from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

In the main event, bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw defended his title by stopping former teammate and rival Cody Garbrandt, this time finishing “No Love” earlier than the first time by winning the rematch in the first round.

In the co-main, Henry Cejudo shocked the world by ending the decorated run of dominant flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson by split decision in a hard-fought, five-round instant classic.

There’s a lot to discuss after a packed week of mixed martial arts revelations, so join LowKick MMA for the post-fight press conference streaming live shortly after the main card here:

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Highlights: Rising UFC Flyweight Destroys Unbeaten Prospect

Watch a previously undefeated prospect receive his first defeat in brutal fashion at UFC 227.

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The hype train was in full effect for previously undefeated flyweight Jose “Shorty” Torres heading into his preliminary card bout against Alex Perez at tonight’s (Sat., August 4, 2018) UFC 227 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, so much so that Demetrious Johnson had even touted the rising star.

However, Perez apparently didn’t get the memo, as he sent a resounding message that he was indeed the better 125-pound fighter with an absolutely vicious onslaught in the first round, unloading an unreal 104 significant strikes in the frame to score a jaw-dropping finish.

It was Perez’ eighth straight win and his third in the Octagon after debuting on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series last summer. Watch the beatdown here:

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Chael Sonnen Says UFC Title Contender Has To Go ‘Full Heel’

Chael Sonnen knows a thing or two about being the ‘heel.’

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Chael Sonnen wants to see Henry Cejudo unleash his inner heel.

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is set to defend his title against Henry Cejudo at the UFC 227 pay-per-view (PPV) in Los Angles on August 4th. It’ll be a rematch of the pair’s initial meeting back in 2016 where Cejudo was finished in the first round.

In a recent episode of “Beyond The Fight,” former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen explained how he’d like to see Cejudo bring out his inner heel to promote the fight (quotes via MMA Mania):

“He just wouldn’t come out of his shell,” Sonnen said. “He just simply wouldn’t do it. He just wanted to be the good and likeable guy, no matter how many times we try to grab him by the collar and say ‘Henry, that spot’s taken — the good guy is taken by Demetrious — but there’s another seat in the car.”

Sonnen believes that Cejudo’s recent campaign on Twitter was able to land him the fight:

“He came out of his shell this much [gestures] in a few Tweets on social media guess what? He got the fight.”

One thing Sonnen fears, however, is that Cejudo is already complacent with simply getting the fight. He’d like to see the former Olympian take some extra initiative to help promote the bout:

“I worry as a fan that that was his goal, and his only goal: to get the fight,” Sonnen said. “I worry as a fan that he’s not going to do his part to bring attention to this. That’s irresponsible of him. He will think it’s sportsmanlike of him, he will see it as sportsmanship. That’s also why he’s broke,” said Chael, who wrote the book on how to channel your inner-bad guy to promote a title fight.

“He just refuses to see what we’re doing here. This is a world title fight, which is a big deal. This is a rematch which historically speaking, is big business — and it’s the co-main, which is the industry’s way of saying ‘we know you can’t do your part.’ That’s not on Demetrious. A little bit of it is,” he said.

“Demetrious is involved in this too, but he’s the champion. He’s the one that gets to be himself. He’s the one that gets to be in that spot because he’s got 12 pounds of gold wrapped around his waist. He’s the guy who gets that opportunity, because he’s the number-one ranked fighter in the world. It’s incumbent on the challenger, and in this case, it’s Cejudo.”

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Ray Borg Wants to End The Career of “Mighty Mouse” at UFC 215

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is one fight away from breaking the all time title defense record at UFC 215, where he faces the contender, Ray Borg According to Borg, Johnson’s career may end on a bitter low. Borg takes on Johnson in the headline bout at UFC 215 next month. At the age of 24, […]

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is one fight away from breaking the all time title defense record at UFC 215, where he faces the contender, Ray Borg According to Borg, Johnson’s career may end on a bitter low. Borg takes on Johnson in the headline bout at UFC 215 next month. At the age of 24, […]