Because he’s the self-appointed “King of Cringe,” it’s easy to forget or downplay what a tremendous talent Cejudo was becoming before he surprisingly announced his retirement following his UFC 249 win over Dominick Cruz.
After narrowly defeating Demetrious Johnson to claim the flyweight title, Cejudo’s first defense came against Dillashaw, then the bantamweight champion. The challenger was coming off his second consecutive knockout win over Cody Garbrandt, and many envisioned him claiming a second title in similar fashion, but it was Cejudo that scored the finish and the victory.
Dillashaw came out in his traditional “hunt and peck” style, looking for openings, while Cejudo stood with legs wide, offering kicks and getting his range. What looked like a glancing blow to the side of the head put Dillashaw face-down on the canvas, and the flyweight champion pounced. A torrent of left hands followed, and when Dillashaw tried to clamber to his feet, he was greeted by lefts and rights that sent him back to the ground, ending the fight.
Five months later, Cejudo would claim the vacant bantamweight title to earn “Champ-Champ” status.
There is talk of him returning in 2023, and if he does, it will certainly be one of the most intriguing stories of the year because there is no denying he exited right when it looked like he was getting really good at this MMA stuff, and he could have very well kept improving over these last two years.