At UFC 227 in August 2018, Henry Cejudo made history by becoming the second ever UFC flyweight champion.
Unfortunately, since then the division has had a big black cloud surrounding it and it seems as if they all may be finding themselves out of roster spots in the near future.
Because of this, Cejudo’s first title defense against the bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw at UFC Brooklyn has become all the more important.
“I’m here fighting for the fighters, for all the little guys, all the guys that have kids, have families, that still have hopes of becoming a world champ,” Cejudo told FloCombat. “It’s not just for me. It’s for all the flyweights, all their families, all their kids, I’m trying to employ people here.
“I believe the UFC is sending down TJ Dillashaw, they are sending down the hitman to try and take out ‘The Messenger’ but there’s a reason why Henry Cejudo’s nickname is ‘The Messenger.’ I couldn’t ask for a better fairytale. I couldn’t ask for a better storyline.”
The Olympic gold medalist in Cejudo began his MMA career as a bantamweight but flyweight was really where he found his footing.
A division that has always gotten criticized for one reason or another, now that its longtime reigning champion in Demetrious Johnson has departed, 125-pounds can potentially flourish in new ways if given the chance.
“I am going to resurrect the flyweight division,” Cejudo said. “I’m going to be looking through those snake eyes and I’m going to let him know he’s messing with ‘The Messenger.’ He’s messing with something much bigger than the fight. He’s messing with the flyweight division.
“We are going to make the flyweight division great again.”
As for the fight with Dillashaw, Cejudo will be welcoming the 135-pound champ to the division for the very first time. After having recently shown off their physiques, Cejudo doesn’t think his opponent looks too great.
“He’s not looking so great. He looks like he needs a cup of water.” Cejudo said on The MMA Hour. “He looks like a cross country runner.”
Regardless, Cejudo says there will be a fight on Saturday night whether Dillashaw makes or misses weight.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/14/2019