Henry Carlos Cejudo, also known as The Messenger, is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican
origin, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competes and is the current
reigning champion of the flyweight division in UFC.
Early Life
While in high school, Henry Cejudo won the national freestyle tournament of AWF and earned
accolades for his performance at Pan American Games, before winning a gold medal at the 2008
Summer Olympics in Beijing. At that time, he was the youngest American to be an Olympic champion
in freestyle wrestling. He retired from freestyle wrestling in 2012 to begin a career in MMA.
MMA Career
After a year with the Arizona-based WFF and amazing an undefeated record of 6-0, Henry Cejudo
signed with UFC in 2014, thus becoming the third Olympic gold medallist to do so. His first UFC fight
against Scott Jorgensen got cancelled due to weight issues, in context of which UFC president Dana
White said he should either move up to bantamweight or leave the promotion.
His first match turned out to be a bantamweight bout against Dustin Kimura, where he won by
unanimous decision. He won the next few matches in the same manner. In 2015, Henry Cejudo
made news by refusing to fight in Nevada in protest of fining and suspension of Nick Diaz by Nevada
State Athletic Commission following a failed drug test. He held NSAC’s procedure responsible for the
boycott. However, he did fight in Nevada in 2016 breaking the boycott, against the-then Flyweight
champion Demetrious Johnson, which he lost.
A rematch happened in 2018, and Cejudo won this time to become the second UFC Flyweight
champion and also the first Olympic gold medallist to do so.
Current Status
As of January 16, 2019, Henry Cejudo’s win-loss record stands at 13-2. At UFC Fight Night 143, Cejudo defeated T.J. Dillashaw to retain his Flyweight Title after the latter had dropped down to Flyweight to challenge for title.
At UFC 238, Cejudo faced Marlon Moraes for the vacant Bantamweight Championship, after USADA had announced that Dillashaw had tested positive for EPO in pre and post-fight screenings and had been suspended for two years. Cejudo won the fight via TKO in the third round making him the fourth fighter to simultaneously hold championships in two weight divisions in UFC.
Current Titles:
UFC Flyweight Champion
Weight: 125 LBs / 57 KGs
Class: Flyweight
Win-Loss-Draw: 13-2-0
| Professional Record Breakdown | ||||
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date |
| Win | Demetrious Johnson | Decision (split) | UFC 227 | 4-Aug-2018 |
| Win | Sergio Pettis | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 218 | 2-Dec-2017 |
| Win | Wilson Reis | TKO (punches) | UFC 215 | 9-Sep-2017 |
| Loss | Joseph Benavidez | Decision (split) | The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale | 3-Dec-2016 |
| Loss | Demetrious Johnson | TKO (knees and punches) | UFC 197 | 23-Apr-2016 |
| Win | Jussier Formiga | Decision (split) | The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale: Magny vs. Gastelum | 21-Nov-2015 |
| Win | Chico Camus | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 188 | 13-Jun-2015 |
| Win | Chris Cariaso | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 185 | 14-Mar-2015 |
| Win | Dustin Kimura | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on Fox: dos Santos vs. Miocic | 13-Dec-2014 |
| Win | Elias Garcia | Decision (unanimous) | Legacy FC 27 | 31-Jan-2014 |
| Win | Ryan Hollis | Decision (unanimous) | Legacy FC 24 | 11-Oct-2013 |
| Win | Miguelito Marti | TKO (punches) | Gladiator Challenge: American Dream | 18-May-2013 |
| Win | Anthony Sessions | TKO (punches) | WFF 10: Cejudo v Sessions | 19-Apr-2013 |
| Win | Sean Henry Barnett | TKO (punches) | Gladiator Challenge: Battleground | 24-Mar-2013 |
| Win | Michael Poe | TKO (punches) | WFF MMA: Pascua Yaqui Fights 4 | 2-Mar-2013 |
