Henry Cejudo

Henry Carlos Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American freestyle wrestler and former professional mixed martial artist. He last competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. Cejudo is the fourth UFC fighter to hold titles in two different weight classes simultaneously, and the second to defend titles in two different weight divisions. He is considered to be among the greatest combat athletes of all time due to his accomplishments in MMA and freestyle wrestling.

He currently competes in the Lightweight division of Real American Freestyle (RAF), where he will debut at RAF 06. During his wrestling career, Cejudo competed at 55 kilograms and became the youngest American Olympic gold medalist in wrestling history at the time, winning the 2008 Summer Olympics at age 21. As a senior level freestyle wrestler, he was also a 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist, as well as a multiple-time Pan American Championships gold medalist and US national champion.

Background

Born to Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles, California, Cejudo is the second youngest of the family's seven siblings. As a result of his violent father's drug and alcohol abuse, Cejudo's family constantly moved around the Los Angeles area.

When Cejudo was four, his mother fled to New Mexico with her children before his father, who was jailed after threatening to kill his whole family and subsequently getting into an altercation in the street, was released. His father was deported when Cejudo was six years old and died when Cejudo was about 20 years old. After a couple of years in New Mexico, the family relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. In Phoenix, the family lived in Maryvale in poverty despite their mother working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Cejudo never slept alone in his own bed until he was provided one by USA Wrestling while participating in a residency program at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado. He also started competing as an amateur boxer, and won the annual state Copper Gloves boxing tournament in 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Cejudo enrolled at Grand Canyon University in 2010 and graduated in 2015 with a degree in Theology.

Wrestling career

Early career

Inspired by his older brother Angel Cejudo, who was an undefeated four-time AIA wrestling state champion with a record of 150 wins and zero defeats who represented the United States internationally, Henry also became a four-timer. His freshman and sophomore year titles were won in Arizona, before he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to become a resident athlete at the United States Olympic Training Center. He won the Colorado state championships (CHSAA) as a junior and senior, and was named ASICS "National High School Wrestler of the Year" in 2006. In the same year, he was selected in USA Wrestling Magazine's "Dream Team of High School All-Americans."

In 2006, Cejudo won the Fargo National title in freestyle. Soon after his victory, he began full-time training at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There, he prepared for the U20 World Championships; after a fifth-place finish in 2005, Cejudo was able to claim the silver medal for the United States team. He opted to pursue an international career in freestyle rather than competing in collegiate wrestling.

Senior level

2005–2007

Cejudo made his senior level debut on October 23, 2005, at the Sunkist Open, at the age of 18. He earned notable victories over NCAA champion Jason Powell and three-time All-American Tanner Gardner before finishing fifth. On April 15, 2006, he won the US National Championship at 55 kilograms, qualifying for the US World Team Trials and becoming the first high schooler to do so since the organization (USAW) was established as the sport's governing body in 1983. At the World Team Trials, he defeated an eventual accomplished wrestler in Franklin Gómez in the opening match of the Challenge Tournament before making it to the best-of-three finals. There, he was downed twice by the 2000 Olympic silver medalist and 1998 World Champion Sammie Henson, losing the spot. He quickly bounced back a week later with a Pan American title. In his last competition of the year, Cejudo competed at the Sunkist Open, where he lost in the second round.

On March 22, 2007, Cejudo captured a bronze medal at the World Cup. In April 7, he claimed his second US National title while compiling wins over collegiate and international standout Nick Simmons and two-time All-American Vic Moreno. On May 18, he earned his second Pan American title. Cejudo then made the US World Team after two straight wins over Matt Azevedo. Before the 2007 World Championships, he warmed up with a Pan American Games title. At the World Championships, he was taken out in the opening round by Uzbekistan's Erkin Tadzhimetov and placed 31st.

2008

Cejudo started off the most successful year of his freestyle career in March 2, with a Pan American title. He failed to secure his third consecutive US National title after he was pinned by Matt Azevedo, not before defeating recent All-American Obe Blanc. At the US Olympic Team Trials, he started off by comfortably downing two opponents to make it to the best-of-three. There, he had a hard-fought series with 04' Olympic Silver medalist and defending Olympic team member Stephen Abas, whom he went 2–1 with, earning the US Olympic Team spot.

Cejudo was coached for the Olympics by Kevin Jackson, the first Olympic gold medalist to win a UFC championship.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Cejudo opened up with a win over Radoslav Velikov, the 06' World Champion; after losing the first period 0–1, he bounced back with 3–2 and 4–3 periods. In the next round, he faced Besarion Gochashvili from Georgia; the same results as his opening bout popped up, after losing the first period 1–3, he came back with scores of 3–2 and 3–0 to defeat Gochashvili. He then wrestled Azerbaijan's Namig Sevdimov, whom he took out after once again losing the first period (3–5) and winning the next two (3–2, 4–3). In the finale, he met Tomohiro Matsunaga, a Japanese athlete who was coming fresh off an Asian title; he won the first period after scoring the biggest move and won the second period after a comfortable 3–0 score. This made Cejudo the youngest American to win Olympic Gold in wrestling history at age 21 (record was later broken by Kyle Snyder, 20, in 2016). He then took a break from his freestyle wrestling career.

2011–2012

After announcing that he would try to make a second Olympic run in 2010, Cejudo made his comeback at the 2011 Beat the Streets charity event, where he beat Rasul Mashezov 2–0 and 4–3.

In his first tournament since his lay-off, Cejudo claimed a Sunkist Open title after compiling four victories, on October 28, 2011. On November 26, 2011, he earned a silver medal from the Henri Deglane Challenge, after being defeated in the finals by Ghenadie Tulbea.

At the 2012 US Olympic Team Trials, Cejudo downed Obe Blanc before being defeated by the top-seed Nick Simmons, failing to make his second US Olympic Team. After the Simmons match, Cejudo put his shoes in the middle of the mat, signaling his retirement from the sport.

Appearances post-retirement

While already an undefeated MMA prospect, Cejudo made a brief return to the sport at the "Agon V: Iowa against the World" event by wrestling Tony Ramos (who would go on to win the US Open weeks later) on April 4, 2015, weeks after his win over Chris Cariaso at UFC 185. Despite riding an 8–2 lead, he was defeated by that year's World Team Member after he scored eight more points of his own, ending the match 8–10.

In June 2018, Cejudo was prestigiously inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.

Soon after his exhibition match with Ramos, Cejudo flirted with the possibility of making a 2016 Olympic Run, however, his intentions never materialized.

Cejudo signed with Real American Freestyle (RAF), and will debut at RAF 06 against Urijah Faber on February 28, 2026.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

On January 30, 2013, Cejudo announced on his Twitter page that he planned to begin training for a career in MMA. Despite wrestling at 121 pounds during his wrestling career, Cejudo fought at 135 pounds in his MMA debut. He defeated Michael Poe by TKO due to punches in his MMA debut on March 2, 2013, for the Arizona-based World Fighting Federation.

Over the next year, Cejudo amassed a record of 6–0 with three wins by TKO, one by submission, and two by decision. Prior to signing with the UFC, Cejudo was listed as the #1 ranked bantamweight prospect in the MMA Prospects Report 2013.