The Film Room: Henry Cejudo
UFC 227 is now available on Amazon Prime.
Henry Cejudo will get his second shot at Ultimate Fighting Championship gold when the 2008 Olympic gold medalist challenges Demetrious Johnson for the undisputed flyweight title in the UFC 227 co-headliner on Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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King of the Mat
Cejudo ranks as one of the most accomplished American wrestlers in MMA history. In addition to his Olympic gold medal, he was a four-time Pan American Games champion. However, Cejudo has rarely used his grappling chops since moving to MMA in 2013, choosing to strike with opponents unless his wrestling skills were absolutely necessary.
When he does choose to wrestle, Cejudo can take down opponents at will. Instead of power takedowns, he likes to grab a single-leg and lift it as high as possible, taking them off their post leg and dragging them to the mat -- a tactic he has been using since his Olympic days. This is an interesting take, as most takedowns in MMA come from grabbing a leg, driving into the opponent’s hips and using force and power instead of finesse to get him down.
Opponents rarely try to take Cejudo to the mat, but when they choose to do so, he has fantastic defense; even the best MMA grapplers have a difficult time getting him to the ground. No one has seen Cejudo work off his back in the UFC, and few expect that to change anytime soon.
Choosing not to use what brought him to the dance seems like an odd decision, but it allowed Cejudo to develop his striking skills and become a dangerous fighter in all aspects of MMA. He put on the most impressive performance of his career against Wilson Reis at UFC 215 and showed he has the power to finish fights. He also proven to be calm and collected in the pocket, and he got the best of Reis in most of their up-close exchanges.
Early in the second round, Cejudo landed a brilliant right straight to set up the ground-and-pound finish. Cejudo was developing a reputation as a decision fighter who had a difficult time putting away opponents, but he silenced his critics with his first finish in the UFC.
Although usually a leading attacker, Cejudo has developed a decent countering game, especially with his lead hook. He likes to keep his lead hand outstretched so he can counter with a jab or turn over his hips to counter with a lead hook. No one outside of Johnson has put pressure on Cejudo, but he has the countering skills necessary to hold his own before going back to his leading attacks.
In his fight with Reis, Cejudo showed a new wrinkle to his game with intercepting and leading knees. Anytime time Reis shot for a takedown, he was met with a knee up the middle to the sternum, which discouraged him from attempting future takedowns. Opponents are already wary of trying to take down Cejudo because of his Olympic pedigree; if he can develop more of these intercepting knees, it will further dissuade opponents from shooting for takedowns.
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