Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Fighters of the 2010s

9. Henry Cejudo

Cejudo, who was voted Sherdog's ninth greatest fighter ever pound-for-pound, finishes in the same spot here. His career was captured fairly well by the scope of this list, as he turned pro in 2013 and only one of his great triumphs, a second-round stoppage victory over Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight crown in 2020, occurred after the 2010s. Cejudo was an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling with some of the greatest cardio in MMA history and eventually developed outstanding, 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 the close decision against Benavidez, Cejudo would not lose again. He went 6-0 to finish his career, 5-0 for the rest of the 2010s—and each win was significant. He knocked out Wilson Reis, took a decision over the outstanding Sergio Pettis, and then had the fight which really made his legend. In a rematch against 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 2-2 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 had dethroned the seemingly unbeatable “Mighty Mouse,” whom we will discuss later, even if the triumph was far from clear. Cejudo would then shock reigning UFC bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw with a 32-second knockout at 125 pounds. After that, he came back from early adversity to stop Marlon Moraes via ground-and-pound in Round 3, adding the bantamweight belt to his collection to close out the decade. People forget this, but Moraes was seen as one of the best fighters in the sport then and was the favorite against Cejudo. Instead, Cejudo became a UFC champ-champ and secured his place in this honored list.

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