Henry Cejudo Promises To Knock TJ Dillashaw Out

Newly-crowned UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo made history when he ended Demetrious Johnson’s record-setting streak of title defenses in the co-main event of last Saturday night’s (August 4, 2018) UFC 227 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

But only two days after the shocking changing of the guard, “The Messenger” already has his sights on making history of a different kind.

Cejudo took the opportunity in the moments after his victory over “Mighty Mouse” to call out the winner of UFC 227’s main event between TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt (which Dillashaw eventually won by first-round TKO), and he’s sticking to that bold path to improve his scope of attention.

Speaking about his fighting future on today’s edition of “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show,” Cejudo went so far as to even predict he would knock out decorated 135-pound champion Dillashaw before saying it was simply time to get the fight signed:

“I want the challenge, I’ll go up. I will knock TJ Dillashaw out,” Cejudo said. “We can do it at 125 pounds, but I prefer it at 135 pounds because I want his belt. I know I’ll knock him out, that’s all there is to it.

“At 135, I feel really good for that weight class. I’ll fill in naturally to 135 pounds. My whole thing is making history. I would love to fight TJ. I hope he accepts my offer to fight at 125 or 135 pounds. Enough talk, let’s get to signing.”

Dana White did admit he liked when fighters were willing to step outside of their division and fight anyone at any time after Cejudo’s big win at UFC 227. Yet conventional wisdom still states that “Mighty Mouse,” who defended his flyweight title a record 11 times, is more deserving of an immediate rematch than any other former champion in UFC history, especially considering many have received that with a far, far less impressive record.

Cejudo believes Johnson definitely deserves an immediate rematch based on that logic, but based on where he believes the flyweight division is headed, perhaps “Mighty Mouse” should be out of the picture for the time being:

“I would agree when it comes to the statistics, but at the same time, I know what the UFC is trying to create,” Cejudo said. “It’s good for our weight class to start new storylines. I think just for the sake of our weight class, I think it would be good to see somebody else for now instead of Demetrious Johnson.””

Whether the division wants to see “Mighty Mouse” right now or not will depend on how significant his injuries from UFC 227 are, and at first glance they appear at least somewhat serious. That in and of itself could open a path for Cejudo to get the champion vs. champion superfight he wants against Dillashaw.

Is it the right call to make for both of the lower weight divisions?