When Henry Cejudo steps into the Octagon on Saturday, he will be making history.
Tagged with the distinction of only be the third Olympic gold medalist to compete in the UFC, Cejudo meets Scott Jorgensen (4-5) at UFC 177 in Sacramento. The fight will a featured prelim before the main PPV card.
While the UFC features many Olympians including women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and middleweight Yoel Romero, only two gold medalists have signed on the dotted line with Dana White. Both Mark Schultz (1984) and Kevin Jackson (1992) earned gold medals in wrestling but neither fighter made much of an impact in MMA.
Cejudo says anything short of winning the 125-pound title would be a failure to him and is looking forward to eventually challenging Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title.
“There’s a new sheriff in town, and he hates second place,” Cejudo told USA TODAY Sports. “He hates losing, and he’s here to win. Whoever has the belt, just be ready. It’s going to take a lot to beat me. I’m a competitor. I’m coming ready, and I’m coming focused.”
As for critics who suggest that Cejudo has been rushed to the UFC too soon, the Olympian has a message.
“This is the thing: People can talk, but a majority of the people who talk are just fans and are a few hundred pounds and on the Internet,” said Cejudo. “People have to realize that 99 percent of the people don’t know what they’re talking about. The only person that had to be ready is the person that’s fighting. That’s it. I’m used to the negativity, the drama and whatever. I’ve been through so much adversity that this is just another hurdle in my life.”
