UFC's Greatest Fighter Ever Loses Belt In Massive Upset
Demetrious Johnson has over the past six years taken his place alongside legends like Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie as the greatest fighters the Ultimate Fighting Championship has ever seen.
But at UFC 227 Saturday night, his long championship run came to an end.
Johnson had been the flyweight champion for as long as that division has existed in UFC, but he ran headlong into Henry Cejudo, who put up a fierce fight and eked out a split-decision win on the judges’ scorecards.
For Cejudo, there was also a big-time revenge component in the win, as Johnson had stopped him in just one round at UFC 197.
Cejudo then lost to Joseph Benavidez in what he described as a bad decision from the judges before fighting his way back to a title shot by defeating Wilson Reis and Sergio Pettis.
Cejudo was dominant in the ground-and-pound game against Johnson, routinely coming close to stopping the fight as he established a strong fighting position after some spectacular takedowns.
Cejudo lands the knee, DJ lands the big right hand … what a fight!#UFC227 pic.twitter.com/iXkzBPjCjR
— UFC (@ufc) August 5, 2018
Give credit to Johnson; whenever it looked like Cejudo was starting to take complete control, he’d fight his way back up off the ground, land some good strikes, and restore the balance of power.
But in the eyes of the judges, the mere fact that Johnson was so often fighting from the back foot was enough.
The fifth round in particular was an all-out war. Both fighters wanted to leave nothing to chance, and what resulted was the Fight of the Night and a strong candidate for Fight of the Year.
Indeed, the very end was just an abandon-all-defense brawl:
WHAT A FIGHT!
Who took it? #UFC227 pic.twitter.com/kEbDHjq2Bh
— UFC (@ufc) August 5, 2018
Cejudo, who believes that it was simply inexperience that doomed him against Johnson the first time, showed just how much he has learned in the school of hard knocks that is the octagon.
After the fight, there was a bit of disbelief from Johnson’s fans, but to the unbiased observer, the anyone’s-fight nature of the decision was on clear display, something some on Twitter acknowledged.
Whoa. Coin toss decision. But @MightyMouseUFC is such a class act in defeats, still the GOAT. Congrats to @HenryCejudo. Best flyweight fight in the UFC imo. #ufc227
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) August 5, 2018
Johnson himself was gracious in defeat, but you get the feeling that a rubber match is brewing between these two, as Johnson wants to reassert his dominance and ensure that the second UFC flyweight champion in history has a shorter reign atop the division than did the first champion.
Even the WWE’s Rey Mysterio weighed in with a little national pride for his fellow Mexican fighter.
Congratulations to the new @ufc fly weight of the 🌎 @HenryCejudo #Mexico🇲🇽
Much respect to @MightyMouseUFC for that long reign! https://t.co/kx5B9CSenT
— ♛Rey Mysterio❔ (@reymysterio) August 5, 2018
It was a fantastic fight, and one the UFC needed after a few too many one-sided title fights in 2018.
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