Henry Cejudo Ends Demetrious Johnson’s Historic Title Reign (UFC 227 Results)
The flyweight division has a new champion.
Henry Cejudo ended Demetrious Johnson's six-year title reign on Saturday in the UFC 227 co-main event to become the second flyweight champion in the promotion's history.
In the opening round, Johnson was having his way and the fight briefly looked like their first bout in 2016 when Johnson dominated Cejudo at UFC 197. Johnson delivered leg kicks and outworked Cejudo.
Between rounds, Cejudo's corner urged their fighter to draw on his Olympic Gold wrestling experience and take Johnson down. Cejudo did just that. He kept Johnson grounded and stayed heavy on top to take the round.
In the third, Johnson continued to deliver leg kicks. Cejudo scored two takedowns but was unable to keep "Mighty Mouse" down. In the fourth frame, Cejudo controlled Johnson on the ground. Heading into the final round, it was anyone's fight.
Cejudo pressed forward in the final round and pressured Johnson. He secured a takedown but Johnson immediately bounced back to his feet. Cejudo kept moving forward and the two slugged it out in the final seconds. The judges scored the fight for Cejudo by split decision.
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"I was born in South-Central L.A. in a two-bedroom apartment literally ten minutes away from here and I'm here and beat probably the greatest of all time from being knocked out in the first round. I couldn't do it without my team," said Cejudo after the win.
After dethroning Johnson, Cejudo called for a fight against the winner of the main event bantamweight title bout between champion TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt.
"America is all about winners and the winner of this next bout, I want to fight that guy. I want to fight the winner at 135 pounds. I deserve it. Olympic champion, now the UFC champion. Give me the belt at 135 pounds. Demetrious Johnson didn't go up. They don't have to come down. I'm going up. I want that belt too," he said.
