Like it or not, weight-cutting is deeply rooted in mixed martial arts. MMA adopted its weight-cutting from the sport of wrestling, where it is presumed to be advantageous to be the biggest and strongest in your weight class.
Known as the ‘fight before the fight,’ most UFC fighters cut anywhere from 5-25 pounds, with some fighters able to cuts more than 30 pounds. Weight-cutting is the ultimate test of discipline and willpower.
Many fighters in the sport consider it very unprofessional to miss weight and often there is always a risk of a fighter losing a percentage of their fight purse.
In this series, we will shine a light on select fighters who cut a massive amount of weight, who have missed weight multiple times in the past, who have made weight-class changes, along with how the weight-cut and weigh-in could affect possible upcoming matchups.
In short, every aspect of weight-cutting and how it affects the fight game.
Henry “The Messenger” Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC)
Flyweight (125lbs.): 7-2 (UFC), Former UFC Flyweight Champion, *1 Fight Cancellation Due to Weight Cut
Bantamweight (135lbs.): 3-0 (UFC), Former UFC Bantamweight Champion
Henry Cejudo stands at 5’4″ tall with a 67.5″ reach and is obviously an incredibly unique combat sports athlete.
Cejudo competed in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling representing the United States. Cejudo competed at 55kg or 121lbs, and won the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics at the age of just 21 years old.
After a valiant but unsuccessful attempt at making the US Olympic wrestling team for a second time in 2012, Cejudo retired from wrestling and eyed a move to MMA.
Cejudo would transition and begin his professional MMA career a year later in 2013 at 135lbs.
Henry would miss weight ahead of his final fight before getting picked up by the UFC, weighing 128.5lbs. for his co-main event fight at flyweight under the Legacy FC banner.
Cejudo had also withdrawn from another fight a few months prior citing a stomach flu that many speculated was brought on by a difficult weight cut.
Henry would also delay his UFC debut because of medical issues related to his weight cut ahead of his scheduled bout against Scott Jorgensen at UFC 177. The bout was called off as a result with many expressing extreme doubts about Henry’s career in the UFC at 125lbs, before it had even begun.
When Cejudo did finally make his debut a few months later in late 2014, he did so at bantamweight against Dustin Kimura to win a unanimous decision. Henry then dropped back down to the flyweight division winning three in a row to set him up for his first meeting against Demetrious Johnson in 2016 for the UFC Flyweight Championship.
Though Cejudo was unsuccessful in obtaining the belt on that night and lost his following fight via split decision he would mount an incredibly successful comeback.
Henry would win four more fights at flyweight including avenging his loss to Demetrious Johnson for the UFC Flyweight belt and defending it against TJ Dillashaw in his last fight in the flyweight division, a couple of weeks shy of his 32nd birthday.
Cejudo would go on to talk about just how challenging his stint at 125lbs had been in an episode of Food Truck Diaries, Below the Belt with Brendan Schaub of Showtime sports saying:
“Cutting weight is hard for me, man. Making ’25 is hard. My debut in the UFC, I didn’t make weight. I didn’t make weight a few times in my fighting career trying to make ’25.”
Cejudo returned to bantamweight in June of 2019 and captured the then-vacant belt, finishing Marlon Moraes in three rounds and becoming a UFC double champion.
In his most recent fight before his temporary retirement, he finished Dominick Cruz to defend his bantamweight title in May of 2020.
Now, just a few days shy of three years since he retired from the sport, Henry will return to face Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 288.
Now 36 years old, and with so much preparation its extremely unlikely that Cejudo will struggle on the scale, but he will definitely be the fighter to watch come fight time to see how his body reacts to the weight cut, rehydration process, and time away from active competition. Especially since Cejudo has teased a potential move up to the UFC’s 145lbs division in the future if he takes care of business at UFC 288.
