UFC 227 fight card primer: Johnson vs. Cejudo II

Get up to date on the co-main event of UFC 227 as Demetrious Johnson attempts to defend his flyweight belt against Henry Cejudo.

Arguably the most dominant champion in UFC history will return to the Octagon this Saturday night, as Demetrious Johnson (27-2-1 MMA, 15-1-1 UFC) will attempt to defend his flyweight title for the twelfth time against old foe Henry Cejudo (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC). UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on August 4th. The main card will begin at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT on PPV. Four fights will be shown on the FX prelims at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT, and three fights will take place on the Fight Pass prelims which begin at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT.

How do these two stack up?

Johnson: 31 years old | 5’3” | 66” reach
Cejudo: 31 years old | 5’4” | 64” reach

What have these two done recently?

Johnson: W - Ray Borg (SUB) | W - Wilson Reis (SUB) | W - Tim Elliott (DEC)
Cejudo: W - Sergio Pettis (DEC) | W - Wilson Reis (TKO) | L - Joseph Benavidez (DEC)

How did these two get here?

Demetrious Johnson will return to the octagon ten months after his last title defense against Ray Borg at UFC 216, making this his longest period of inactivity during his reign as champion. Talks of a superfight between Johnson and current UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, who also fights on UFC 227, were getting hotter earlier this year, but ‘DJ’ has recently stated that ship has sailed.

If you compare Henry Cejudo’s performance against Demetrious Johnson in April 2016, to his last outings against Wilson Reis and Sergio Pettis, you will see a much-changed fighter. His losses to both Johnson and Joseph Benavidez seemed to make Cejudo adopt a new, open-palmed, karate-like fighting style. The change was evidently successful, as Cejudo scored himself the first finish of his UFC career against Reis, and also earned him his first ever performance bonus in that fight.

Why should you care?

This truly is a fight between the best two UFC flyweights on the roster at the moment, and you can be sure Cejudo is etching to get his revenge for the loss Johnson handed him two years ago.