3 reasons why Henry Cejudo is an all-time great and 2 reasons why he's not

#2. Henry Cejudo’s biggest wins came with caveats

TJ Dillashaw has claimed he was drained by a drastic weight cut in his loss to Henry Cejudo

Even the best fighters with the best records can have their career dissected by doubters, and Henry Cejudo is certainly no exception in that sense, particularly when it comes to his biggest wins.

Cejudo’s status as an all-time great usually centers around his victories over Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz. Unfortunately, in the eyes of some observers, all three wins came with caveats.

Cejudo’s win over Johnson was one of the most controversial title wins in UFC history, as he edged ‘Mighty Mouse’ out via split decision. Many observers felt that Johnson deserved the nod, particularly as he hurt ‘Triple C’ badly with low kicks in the opening round.

His wins over Dillashaw and Cruz certainly couldn’t be questioned, as he stopped both men via TKO. However, many fans, as well as Dillashaw himself, pointed out that the then-bantamweight champion had drained himself to make the 125-pound flyweight limit, making him more vulnerable to the kind of strikes that stopped him.

Cruz, meanwhile, could be argued to have been past his best when Cejudo stopped him in May 2020, although given he’s won two fights since, it’s arguable that wasn’t the case.

Essentially, nobody can take Cejudo’s biggest wins away from him, but it is possible for a doubter to argue that the nature of those wins means he shouldn’t be considered an all-time great.

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#1. Henry Cejudo didn’t stick around long enough to become a legend

Did Henry Cejudo hang up his gloves too early to be considered a legend?

Perhaps the biggest reason that critics might have for not considering Henry Cejudo an all-time great is the fact that he simply didn’t stick around long enough at the top of the UFC.

Cejudo signed with the promotion in 2014 and debuted against Dustin Kimura that December. He didn’t ascend to the top of the mountain until the summer of 2018, when he unseated Demetrious Johnson to claim the flyweight title.

From there, ‘Triple C’ made an impressive defense of his title against then-bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw, and then claimed the bantamweight title in his own right by defeating Marlon Moraes when Dillashaw was forced to vacate.

However, he then sat out for the best part of a year while holding both titles. While he defeated Dominick Cruz to retain the bantamweight crown upon his return in May 2020, ‘The Dominator’ wasn’t the rightful top contender at the time.

More to the point, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist then stepped away from the UFC altogether following his victory, leaving many fans wondering about what might’ve been.

Essentially, while he won two titles simultaneously, the fact that Cejudo only achieved two successful title defenses, one in each of his divisions, means that it’s hard to consider him a true legend.

Had ‘Triple C’ stuck around at bantamweight to turn back the challenge of fighters like Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling, then it’d be hard to ever question his status. However, as it is – unless his return brings more glory – it’s hard to put him up with the likes of Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre as an all-time great.