Demetrious Johnson welcomes Henry Cejudo trilogy in ONE Championship
Demetrious Johnson has opened the door to a third fight with Henry Cejudo - only this time in the ONE Championship circle. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA about the prospect of fighting Cejudo in ONE, 'Mighty Mouse' said:
"Of course, absolutely yeah. I feel like that would be another fight that a lot of fans would want to see."
The pair first clashed at UFC 197 in 2016. Demetrious Johnson scored a TKO victory in the first round as he defended his flyweight title.
The second time the pair met was the final fight of Demetrious Johnson's tenure in the UFC. On that occasion, Cejudo edged a split decision to win the title. It was DJ's first loss in 14 fights.
In the wake of that bout, Demetrious Johnson departed the octagon and signed with ONE Championship in Asia. There, he was able to win the flyweight Grand Prix but came up short against Adriano Moraes in their flyweight title fight at ONE on TNT 1.
A bout with Cejudo would help resolve a rivalry that has been rumbling on for years.
Chatri Sityodtong has expressed interest in signing Cejudo in the past. The ONE Championship CEO has said he 'loves' the former two-division UFC champion and wants 'Triple C' to give him a call if he ever becomes a free agent.
Interesting to see that #Onechampionship CEO Chatri Sityodtong has expressed an interest in signing #UFC Flyweight Champion Henry #Cejudo. https://t.co/Tc7xVWlzLI
Cejudo has officially retired but is constantly being linked with a comeback. The biggest sticking point to a trilogy fight with Demetrious Johnson ever happening in ONE would be Cejudo's ties with the UFC.
"I believe he [Cejudo] is still under contract with the UFC. I mean, he did retire but that's what happens when you retire - they freeze your contract. That's what happened to Urijah Fabre, you know. I remember he expressed that he wanted to come and fight for ONE but his contract froze. And it's just like Jorge Masvidal - he wants to go fight Jake Paul but they're not going to let him do that. Especially as there's fights that the UFC can make for Henry Cejudo. He can come back and fight Petr Yan. He can fight Aljamain Sterling. If he wanted to come back down to 125lb he can do that as well. I feel like when they let me out of my contract there was nothing left for me to do over there. For Henry Cejudo I feel there's a lot more they could do with him than me when I was over there. But that's my personal opinion," said Johnson.
Demetrious Johnson's next fight will be a special rules clash with Muay Thai star Rodtang at ONE: 'X' in December
Rodtang Jitmuangnon getting his ground game ready for his clash against flyweight legend Demetrious Johnson on December, 5th.
@ONEChampionship | #ONEX https://t.co/aRo9IiCV1r
Demetrious Johnson's fight with Rodtang will comprise four three-minute rounds, alternating between Muay Thai and MMA.
DJ accepting a fight with Rodtang certainly shows his willingness to try new things. The Thai fighter may only be 24 years old, but he's amassed more than 300 bouts. He is widely regarded as one of the best Nay Muays on the planet.
The fight was first mentioned in the wake of Johnson's loss to Adriano Moraes, where he expressed an interest in kickboxing. Now, with ONE wanting to showcase some special fights for its ten-year anniversary show, Johnson will face arguably the most intriguing test of his career so far.
Check out Demetrious Johnson's interview with Sportskeeda MMA below: