On Saturday (Jan. 19), the UFC will usher in a new era, as the promotion will host its first event on ESPN under its new partnership with the worldwide leader in sports. The event, which will take place from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, is headlined by a battle of champions as 125-pound titleholder Henry Cejudo (13-2) will put his strap on the line against Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw (16-3).
The main event, along with the main card and early prelims, will air on ESPN+ while the prelims will air on ESPN.
As far as the main event goes, an intriguing storyline has emerged. Cejudo could very well be fighting for the future of the flyweight division. Rumors are rampant, indicating that the UFC may be looking to do away with the division. That may be true—especially if Dillashaw comes out on top this weekend. The company has already released a number of flyweights and even “traded” former longtime titleholder Demetrious Johnson to ONE Championship.
But the fight still presents an intriguing clash of styles between two of the most talented and most athletic fighters in the world.
Starting off with the defending champion, the 31-year-old Cejudo holds an athletic pedigree matched by few others, as he won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Olympic games. He then transitioned to mixed martial arts where he’s continued to evolve ever since.
With his wrestling obviously being his bread and butter, the man known as “The Messenger” has had to work diligently to round out his game, which was evident when he lost a one-sided fight to Johnson in their first meeting in 2016. Since then, however, he’s gone 3-1, picking up victories over Wilson Reis, Sergio Pettis, and Johnson in their rematch this past August.
In that rematch, Cejudo showed vast improvements, going toe-to-toe with the dominant “Mighty Mouse” and relying on his wrestling to earn him the victory.
With an ever-improving striking game, Cejudo now seems to be mixing up his attack much better with a wider array of tools at his disposal.
Moving onto Dillashaw, the 32-year-old two-time 135-pound champion is considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. Coming from a college wrestling background, Dillashaw had a strong base when he entered MMA, but he’s since taken his game to the next level training under the tutelage of striking specialist Duane “Bang” Ludwig.
Under the guidance of Ludwig, a former fighter himself, Dillashaw has transformed into one of the most creative and dynamic strikers in the sport. Possessing unique footwork and incredible movement, Dillashaw is precise and accurate, throwing well thought out combinations and effortlessly switching stances.
He’s an incredibly conditioned athlete with a relentless work ethic as well and has shown the ability to pour it on his opponents in search of the finish as eight of his 16 professional victories have come via T/KO. He’s coming off of back-to-back stoppage victories over bitter rival Cody Garbrandt.
And though he does prefer to strike, Dillashaw hasn’t completely abandoned his wrestling. He’s shown a strong ability to transition between his strikes and takedowns and if the fight hits the canvas, he typically isn’t lost. In fact, three of his victories have come by way of submission.
The outcome of this fight will be determined by two factors: the effect the weight cut has on Dillashaw and his ability to stop the takedown.
The 135-pound champion has never competed at flyweight before. In recent posts on Instagram, Dillashaw has looked incredibly lean—possibly too lean, hough he’s claimed that the cut hasn’t been a problem. However, it is unclear how he’ll perform at the lower weight.
In addition, Cejudo is undoubtedly the better pure wrestler. Whether or not he’s able to get Dillashaw down and keep him there in an MMA fight remains to be seen. If he can’t, he may be in trouble.
Simply put, Dillashaw has the edge, specifically in the striking department. If he’s healthy and can keep the fight standing, expect him to outclass and pick apart Cejudo on the feet en route to a decision victory or perhaps a mid-to-late round stoppage.
