Undoubtedly, Henry Cejudo’s performance on Saturday night was outstanding. It is expected that his victory will shape his future and potentially impact the futures of other male flyweight contenders in the UFC.
There was a lot of chatter around the potential end of the 125-pound weight class in the UFC, sparked by TJ Dillashaw’s remarks indicating the intention to eliminate the category. However, Cejudo wasted no time in proving his point by defeating Dillashaw in just 32 seconds at the UFC Fight Night main event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
After the fight, Cejudo searched for UFC president Dana White in the cage, saying with a smile, “Where are you, Uncle Dana? Where are you hiding? This victory, as I mentioned before, is bigger than me. It’s for the flyweights.”
“This win is for all the flyweights out there who aspire to fight for a world title someday,” he added.
Notably, White evaded questions about the future of the 125-pound division leading up to the fight. Despite witnessing his flyweight champion’s impressive performance, White remained non-committal when questioned about the division’s future, stating to ESPN, “I don’t know what I’m going to do with the division. I don’t know yet.”
The UFC has struggled to gain traction with its flyweight division and attract fans to this weight class over the years. Following Demetrious Johnson’s six-year reign and 11 title defenses before his departure to One Championship in Asia, Cejudo’s victory added further uncertainty to the flyweight landscape as more 125-pound fighters were released from their UFC contracts.
