Former UFC two-division champion Henry Cejudo is well known for his cringe-worthy appreciation of his own greatness, but he recently took it to new heights when he added himself to a list of the five best UFC fighters of all time.
Cejudo (16-2) is one of the best athletic talents to ever enter the Octagon. He was an Olympic wrestling gold medalist before he ever took part in a cage fight. During his run in the UFC, he scored a rare win over flyweight legend Demetrious Johnson to win the 125-pound title, then showed his elite talents in snatching up the bantamweight title 10 months later.
Although he is currently retired, he is still a respected voice in the fight game as he builds a new reputation as one of the better coaches in the sport.
Henry Cejudo adds himself to the list of top 5 UFC fighters of all time
On a Monday edition of the Triple C & Schmo Show that he co-hosts, Cejudo ran down who he believes are the five best fighters to ever compete in the Octagon. And while he didn’t go full cringe and proclaim himself the best ever, he still made the top-four over another former two-division champion in Georges St-Pierre.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot Schmo, I’m actually #4. I used to put [St-Pierre there], but I’m actually #4. Just for the simple fact that I won both of my belts from the two greatest,” Cejudo explained. “Just because [Michael] Bisping had a championship at that time, doesn’t mean he was the best in the world. I literally beat the best guys in the world. I beat three Hall-of-Famers in my last four fights. Demetrious Johnson, TJ Dillashaw, and Dominick Cruz. I’m gonna have to put myself on that GOAT mountain, man.”
Although Cejudo has a solid case for top-five all-time, his bantamweight title win in 2019 was against a good, but not an all-time great fighter in Marlon Moraes. While former middleweight champion Bisping was not a pound-for-pound star at the time, St-Pierre beating him for his title was historic because he did so following being retired for four years.
Here is how Cejudo’slist of the top five UFC fighters of all-time breaks down.
Cejudo’s 5 fighters on ‘GOAT mountain’
- 5. Georges St-Pierre (26-2): The Canadian is still viewed as the best welterweight in UFC history and his reign as champion was one of the most dominant title runs of his era. Despite having a Karate background, he molded himself into the best wrestler in the sport, and was as complete a fighter as the UFC has ever had.
- 4. Cejudo (16-2): Cejudo is another two division king, who will go down as the man to finally end Johnson’s historic reign. The Mexican-American was an Olympic champion wrestler who became a dangerous striker in just a few years.
- 3. Anderson Silva (34-11): Anderson Silva is the greatest middleweight the organization has ever seen and one of the deadliest strikers in MMA history. He has the second longest title reign in promotion history and had a Mike Tyson level aura around him for much of that time.
- 2. Demetrious Johnson (23-4-1): Despite the razor-thin decision loss to Cejudo, “Mighty Mouse” is the greatest flyweight fighter of all-time. For much of his title run he was a mainstay in the top-three of the pound-for-pound rankings.
- 1. Jon Jones (26-1): Jon Jones is the greatest light heavyweight of all-time and is universally viewed as the best fighter alive. Personal demons aside, there is very little he can’t do in a cage, and his resume of victims filled with former champions is one of the most impressive in MMA history.