10 Olympians who have competed in the UFC

#6 Henry Cejudo

The Messenger

It was obvious from a young age that Henry Cejudo was an anomaly in the sport of wrestling. He proved it by becoming the youngest Freestyle wrestler in history to win a gold medal, aged 21, at the 2008 Olympics. Kyle Snyder claimed that record for himself by winning gold at the 2016 Olympics, aged 20.

Cejudo retired from wrestling in 2012 after falling short in the Olympic trials, only to take on another challenge, MMA. After debuting in 2013, he quickly became the #1 ranked Bantamweight outside the UFC. They snapped him up in 2014 and he bounced between Flyweight and Bantamweight due to weight hiccups. He resolved those issues and won three consecutive fights to earn a shot at Demetrious Johnson's crown.

Unsuccessful, he next faced #1 ranked Joe Benavidez, who he coached against in The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions. Benavidez's volume over Cejudo's power won him a split decision, though Cejudo was penalized with a point deduction for a low blow in round 1. He TKO'd Wilson Reis in his next fight and won a Performance of the Night bonus. He is scheduled to face Sergio Pettis at UFC 218.

Cejudo was in the news last month when he had to jump out of his 2nd-floor hotel room at 2 AM to escape the Santa Rosa wildfire that claimed 35 lives. Cejudo injured his foot when he landed but was otherwise unharmed.