The last twelve months saw many of the UFC’s biggest stars toppled despite being huge favourites. On Saturday in the UFC 197 co-main event, unbeaten flyweight title challenger and Olympic gold medallist Henry Cejudo will look to do the near-impossible: dethrone UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
Nobody is perfect and this is constantly apparent in the unpredictable world of mixed martial arts, but in order to beat Johnson he will have to come close to perfection.
Here are five things Cejudo needs to do to defeat Johnson:
Neutralize movement. Johnson could possibly be the fastest fighter in MMA history. He has blazing reflexes and is as nimble as his “Mighty Mouse” moniker suggests. A big part of his elusiveness has been predicated on his ability to move around freely and around his opponent. Cejudo will have more success if he finds a way to cut off the cage from Johnson as opposed to chasing him around. He will have more of an opportunity to keep the fight at his range.
Control the distance. Fighters like Dominick Cruz and Holly Holm have proven that if you master the art of keeping the fight at your range you will be able to dictate the pace of the fight better. With how fast Johnson moves and how quickly he is in transitions, this is easier said than done. What Cejudo can do is throw Johnson’s timing off. He mentioned on Inside MMA, timing and wrestling were catalysts to Johnson’s game. If he manages to figure out and disrupt Johnson’s pattern of movement and close the distance he’ll have a better chance at taking the fight where he wants it.
Slow him down. This sounds like a ridiculous proposition because Johnson not only is the fastest fighter in the business but possibly also the most well conditioned. Since becoming the UFC champion in 2012, Johnson has never shown any fatigue even in his fights that went five rounds. Even when he was dropped by John Dodson in their first fight he maintained his relentless pace until the last bell. What Cejudo can do is utilize his kicks and target Johnson’s body. If he clinches with Johnson, he can throw knees and shots to the body. Slowly chipping away at Johnson’s body while mixing in head strikes will give Johnson more to think about and potentially take some wind out of his sails. Throwing leg kicks could also help not only in neutralizing Johnson’s movement but affect his takedown attempts.
Simplify the fight. Cejudo said on the UFC 197 Countdown show he wants to simplify things against Johnson. “Trade over tricks.” Implementing a simpler style of fighting, by involving the steps above, will be his best chance at keeping this fight competitive. Cejudo has to be able to slow Johnson down and make it more of a straight-up boxing or wrestling fight. If Cejudo does this he’ll be able to take away one of Johnson’s greatest strengths, which is his ability to transition and move away from danger before the opponent can react.
Rise to the occasion. When all is said and done, even a perfect strategy won’t work if Cejudo doesn’t show up with his A game. He has been to the grandest stage of them all in the Olympics and rose to the occasion so he is more than capable of doing it Saturday. When the lights are brightest and the stage is the grandest, Cejudo has been his best. We’ll see at UFC 197 if it results in him being crowned champion.
