Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is returning to the octagon for the first time in three years to challenge current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling for the title he vacated those three years ago.

In fact, he vacated his flyweight championship as well, but that’s another story.

Todays story is that these two ran into one another at the UFC Performance Institute earlier:

In the time Cejudo has been absent from competition, Sterling has had four fights, winning all four.

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This began with his 88-second submission (rear naked choke) finish of Cory Sandhagen, before winning the UFC bantamweight championship in his first fight with Petr Yan (DQ). He has since defended it against the likes of former bantamweight champions Petr Yan (SD) in their rematch, and then TJ Dillashaw (TKO) last October.

Cejudo certainly has his work cut out for him. Sterling might actually be someone that can match his wrestling abilities.

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Cejudo went into his first UFC title fight down at 125 lbs against Demetrious Johnson, losing via TKO midway through the opening round. He then lost a split decision to longtime top contender Joseph Benavidez, but hasn’t lost since, despite not fighting for three years.

This streak began when Cejudo defeated fellow former title challenger Wilson Reis (TKO) and current Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis (UD), prior to facing Johnson in their rematch, where he won the UFC flyweight championship via split decision in an incredible back-and-forth affair.

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Cejudo then defended it against TJ Dillashaw (TKO), who moved down to 125 lbs in attempt to become two-division champion, before Cejudo became two-division champion in his next fight by stopping Marlon Moraes (TKO) in round three. He then defended the title via TKO against another former champion in Dominick Cruz before leaving the sport in May of 2020.

Now on May 6, 2023 at UFC 288 Henry Cejudo aims to reclaim his throne after an extended absence. Does he get it done?

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Brady Briggs
http://lowkickmma.com
I became a fan of combat sports when I was 12 years old. I was scrolling through the channels and landed upon versus, where WEC was televised. Urijah Faber fought Jens Pulver for the second time that night. That’s the first fight I saw, and the fight that got me hooked on the sport. Since then, the sport has grown so rapidly, and my goal is to enlighten everyone on what’s going on in the sport today.