Demetrius Johnson and Henry Cejudo break down the short person’s advantages in MMA
Despite being short in stature, Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo are two of the most accomplished fighters in MMA.
Cejudo uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he and his former rival explained the advantages that shorter fighters have when competing against a larger opponent. The former two-division UFC champion recalled his experience when they fought each other in the octagon. He described areas that the shorter fighter could take advantage of:
"This is a conversation for us short kings here...A lot of times think because you're short it's a disadvantage. Not really. you're more explosive, you're harder to take down because of the level change...In other words, being short fighting somebody that has more length, there's more body to grab." [0:15 - 1:13]
Johnson chimed in and used Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway as an example of a shorter fighter being precise and knowing how to use the distance available to them against a taller fighter, saying:
"He was the shorter fighter but he was actually winning the striking events because he understood the biggest thing which was distance. And for me in my career, when I fight guys who are the same height as me, I actually have a hard time because the range and distance is a little bit different." [1:37 - 1:53]
Cejudo and 'Mighty Mouse' made great points about the size advantage. However, they both stressed that the weight difference between fighters is the biggest factor in how effective a shorter fighter can be.
Check out the full video:
Henry Cejudo describes Khabib Nurmagomedov as Islam Makhachev's remote control
Henry Cejudo recapped last weekend's super-fight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski. He described what he believed the lightweight champion could've done better to earn a more decisive win.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, he told Demetrious Johnson what Khabib Nurmagomedov's presence is like when he is around his protege. He even described the UFC Hall of Famer as being Makhachev's remote control, saying:
'If there's somebody that could make those adjustments [in a rematch], it is gonna be Islam [Makhachev]. And think this time around, there's something about him and Khabib [Numagomedov] that Khabib was kinda able to be that remote control for him, so exactly, 'Brother, brother, whatcha you do?" [3:23 - 3:38]
'Triple C' believes that the Dagestani would get his hand raised again if he fought 'Volk' in an immediate rematch.