Video: Cejudo and Johnson fondly look back on UFC 197 title fight
“Sometimes you get Humble Henry.”
Former UFC double-champ Henry Cejudo has been known for his brash-talking “Triple C” persona for years now. But as the man himself stated in a recent tweet, “sometimes you get Humble Henry.”
In a rather rare moment, Cejudo is seen being a bit more complimentary towards a rival. On Easter Sunday, he posted a video with former opponent Demetrious Johnson, who apparently paid Cejudo a personal visit.
In this clip, the two looked back on their UFC 197 title fight in 2016, where Cejudo lost via first-round TKO. Here, “Mighty Mouse” first told the story from his side of things.
Yo @espnmma this is what we talked about. Sometimes you get humble Henry. Happy Easter pic.twitter.com/joqfmAaoPl
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) April 17, 2022
“The first time we fought, you were very comfortable in the clinch. The wrestling clinch,” he told Cejudo. “I was like, ‘OK, perfect.’
“But then, once we got up, I started throwing knees in my Muay Thai clinch. And I hit you, and I realized you got hurt, I was like, ‘Oh, he’s…’ Then I just went after it.”
Cejudo later admitted that he was indeed hurt by a body shot that he gave out a loud grunt as a response. He was also forced to make adjustments because he was in so much pain.
“I tried to give you my face when you caught me. I literally gave you my face because you hurt me to the body so bad,” Cejudo candidly said. “But I knew that when you hit me, I gave, like, a grunt. And I think you said it, too.
“I knew that the second time, I had to fight you differently.”
Guess who stopped by The Cejudo hacienda today. Stay tuned #frenemies pic.twitter.com/tHpC4sdrVK
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) April 17, 2022
Cejudo’s switch in strategy proved to be effective in their rematch two years later at UFC 227. He ended up winning via split decision to become the UFC’s second flyweight champion in history.
These days, the 35-year-old Johnson is competing under the ONE Championship banner. He recently fought a mixed-rules bout with Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and won via second-round submission.
The 35-year-old Cejudo, on the other hand, announced his retirement in 2020 after a successful defense of the bantamweight title against former long-time titleholder Dominick Cruz. But just last week, he returned to the USADA testing pool, indicating a possible UFC comeback.