Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Pound-for-Pound Men

9. Henry Cejudo

The first of the dual-threats on this list, finishing seventh among bantamweights and third on the fly-weight list. In terms of number of fights, Cejudo's career was very short, with his 18 being by far the fewest of anyone on this list. But it certainly was spectacular. Cejudo was an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling with some of the greatest cardio in the sport's history and eventually developed outstand-ing, dynamic striking as well. After being knocked out in half a round by flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson, Cejudo lost a decision to another flyweight great in Joseph Benavidez, a fight that could have gone either man's way or even been a draw, thanks to a point deduction. After that, Cejudo would never lose again, going 6-0 to finish his career. Each win was significant; he knocked out Wilson Reis, defeated the outstanding Sergio Pettis by decision and then had the fight that truly made his legend. In a rematch with Johnson, Cejudo showed his tremendous growth as a martial artist since their first encounter and fought on completely even terms with perhaps the greatest fighter ever. Watching it live, I had it two rounds apiece going into the final round and frankly couldn't decide who won that stanza. Neither could most MMA media or fans, with everyone either having it 48-47 Johnson or 48-47 Cejudo, Cejudo would then shock the UFC bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw with a 32 second knockout at 125 pounds. After that, Cejudo came back from early adversity to stop Marlon Moraes via ground-and-pound in Round 3 to add the UFC bantamweight belt to his col-lection. People forget this, but Moraes was seen as one of the best fighters in the sport at the time and had been the betting favorite against Cejudo. Cejudo fought Dominick Cruz, the man right behind him on this list, and handed him his first knockout loss late in Round 2, started by a brutal knee to the skull. With Cejudo scheduled to come out of retirement to face current UFC bantamweight king Aljamain Sterling, his placement here could go either up or down.

Continue Reading » Number 8