Cejudo’s UFC Debut Revisited

Before he became “Triple C”, Henry Cejudo was a young star just coming out of his gold medal win at the Olympics. After looking to start fresh in the world of MMA, Cejudo made his UFC debut in December 2014. 6-0 at the time, Cejudo faced Dustin Kimura in a bantamweight bout. The wrestler showed he was much more than that at the UFC on Fox event.

Known as “The Messenger”, Cejudo utilized boxing to start the bout off. His intense style showed off a unique display of power. Following a number of stiff kicks, Cejudo dropped Kimura with a right hand and started hitting a number of hammer fists. Towards the end of round one, Cejudo landed over 30 significant strikes while Kimura only landed five.

Round two was more of the same, with Cejudo the aggressor (middle of round two: 48 sig. strikes by Cejudo). With Kimura bleeding on the side of his face, Cejudo continued his assault. Towards the end of the third, Cejudo tried a takedown but didn’t have the same power as he does now. It didn’t matter in the end, as Cejudo ended up winning via unanimous decision.

Following that win, Cejudo moved down to flyweight and began his journey to eventually become UFC Flyweight and Bantamweight Champion. You can watch the full video of the fight above.