The path toward a trilogy fight between Demetrious Johnson and Henry Cejudo would be tough to navigate, but “Mighty Mouse” says he would be open to facing his friendly foe again.
The pair of former UFC champions split results in their first two title fights, creating the desire for a rubber match. While the two fighters are at different stages of their careers, with Johnson (24-4-1) on the heels of claiming the ONE Championship title and Cejudo (16-2) on the verge of a potential return to the UFC from retirement, the idea of a trilogy between two of the best to ever do it is still intriguing.
Even though they hang out together and have spent some time in the same training room, would Johnson be up for facing his friend once again?
“Absolutely,” Johnson said during his ONE on Prime Video 1 post-fight interview. “I mean, I’m sure if the money was crazy enough, I’m sure me and him would do it. Me and Henry, we’re chill, right? I know we would fight because he’s got to make a lot of money for them diapers for his baby. I know he wants more kids. … It’s about keeping the lights on. So, if me and Henry did fight, we’ll put it aside and make a lot of money together. And after the fight, whoever wins or loses, buy each other a beer.”
The pair first met at UFC 197, where Johnson finished Cejudo in the first round with a flurry of strikes. The rematch came over two years later at UFC 227 and Cejudo got one back by split decision, which marked Johnson’s exit from the promotion.
Despite their in-cage rivalry, the friendly foes have recently spent some time in the training room together, and Johnson can attest that Cejudo is still operating at a very high level.
“He can hang with me, Henry Cejudo is still good, you know?” Johnson said. “He just jumped back in the USADA pool. He’s still under contract with the UFC. Henry wants that triple crown. Is he ‘Triple C?’ Yeah. He wants that ‘Quadruple C.’ So, he wants Alex Volkanovski, and that’s what he wants.”
The reality of the situation is that it would be nearly impossible for the potential fight to come together considering both fighters are under different banners. There are some key promotions, such as Bellator and PFL that are open to cross-promotion bouts, but the UFC is very restrictive in that regard.
Johnson was a part of the trade between UFC and ONE Championship that saw “Mighty Mouse” exchanged with Ben Askren, but that is far different than a co-promoted bout between the two companies.
“We’re in two different organizations,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of things that have to move – mountains, and all that stuff, before that’s even possible.”
For what it’s worth, Cejudo appears to be down for the third fight as well.
“If there was one guy that I would like eventually, like if I would have loved to come back for flyweight, 100 percent it would be Demetrious Johnson,” Cejudo said in a Youtube video.
Never say never 🤑@MightyMouse #TheTrilogy #FlyweightGOATshttps://t.co/zWi7xQSpi2 pic.twitter.com/0Ihn1wrply
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) August 28, 2022
