On Aug. 14th of this year, the new UFC flyweight champion called out the bantamweight champ and the world of mixed martial arts changed as we know it. Now, only time will be able to tell whether its for the better or for the worse.
During UFC 227, the cared featured two titles fights for the flyweight and bantamweight championships. The flyweight king, Demetrious Johnson, faced off against Henry Cejudo before TJ Dillashaw defended his bantamweight crown in a grudge match against Cody Garbrandt in the second co-main event.
Cejudo won via split decision, but that wasn’t the only thing that shocked MMA fans across the world. Moments after winning, Cejudo called out the winner of the bantamweight fight set to follow his own match. Talk about bold. Problem is, there has been a lot of hype between a Mighty Mouse vs. TJ Dillashaw, and many fans were hoping that fight would happen sooner rather than later.
The monkey wrench Cejudo threw into the cogs after beating DJ definitely put an end to all that super fight hysteria. Well, at least for the moment. Since the fight, Cejudo has been advocating for a Dillashaw super fight and has been very stern with his position that DJ does not deserve a rematch. His reasoning? When DJ defeated him two years ago, Henry was forced to fight his way back to the top of that division. He also said that the flyweight division needs a new face. All that division has ever known was Demetrious Johnson.
Henry believes it is time for somebody else to have some attention in that division.
The plain hard truth for Henry though is this dream scenario for him where he gets a super fight with Dillashaw isn’t quite within his reach yet. His name value has not been built up to that point yet. Besides Johnson, Cejudo has not really defeated anybody at that level. Henry shouldn’t just be thrown a super fight because he took the flyweight crown. The man has to earn it.
The other factor in all of this is that Demetrious Johnson undoubtedly deserves and immediate rematch. As a champion who broke the record for most consecutive title defenses with 11 — coming off a split decision loss which could have gone either way — Johnson should be next in line for a flyweight title fight. There is no other contender in the flyweight division more deserving of a title shot, no matter which way you look at it.
Dillashaw also doesn’t seem too interested in a Cejudo fight. The guy won’t back down from anybody but what is there to gain for TJ if he takes that fight? The reward is not that much greater than the risk. Truth is, Dillashaw should have another fight with Dominick Cruz to settle the dispute on who is the true bantamweight king. TJ believes he beat Cruz the last time around so that fight is definitely the bantamweight fight to make. Might be more important to get your own house in order before dealing with a differing weight class.
Look, I get it. Everybody loves super fights, but having a super fight just for the sake of having a super fight doesn’t do anybody that much justice. We need to see Cejudo rise into a star before we get excited about him stepping into the octagon with another greta champion. To deny Johnson a rematch would mean denying the man his greatness — which honestly is what the UFC has been doing while he’s been champion.
Cejudo vs Dillashaw simply is not the fight to make at the moment. If the stars align down the line, its potential will only increase as a potential all-time great bout. In this case, patience could be a virtue.
