Cejudo Favoured To Defeat Former Bantamweight Legend

Published on April 26th, 2020 5:26 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


UFC 249, which is taking place on Saturday, May 9th, will feature two title fights - Justin Gaethje vs Tony Ferguson for the interim Lightweight title, as well as Henry Cejudo vs Dominick Cruz for the Bantamweight title.

Cejudo vs Cruz is certainly an "interesting" fight, as Cruz has been off years due to injury. This fight was originally supposed to be Aldo vs Cejudo, though that fight couldn't take place as Aldo is stuck in Brazil.

Cruz has only fought once in the last three years, and that was a loss to Cody Garbrandt. Does Cruz really deserve the title shot on May 9th? Absolutely not, though he was the biggest name that the UFC could find for this fight.

This certainly creates a compelling match-up, however, as Cejudo is clearly one of the top fighters in the UFC, while Cruz has plenty of veteran experience. If anybody can come up with a plan to beat Cejudo, it's Dominick Cruz.

Henry Cejudo, aka "Triple C", has been on fire as of late, defeating Marlon Moraes, TJ Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson in consecutive fights.

Cejudo has a wrestling-first approach (he is an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling), though he also possesses greatly improved hands, as he has two straight knock-outs.

Cruz, on the other hand, has quickness and a well-rounded game that might pose Cejudo some issues.

The biggest question mark, however, will be Cruz's rustiness, as he will be thrown straight into a title match against one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. That seems like a tall task.

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Let's look at the betting odds for this fight, courtesy of Bet365:

Source: Bet365
Time Stamp: April 26th, 2020 5:16 pm EST
Odds Subject to Change

Henry Cejudo, 1.36
Dominick Cruz, 3.00

As you can see, Cejudo is a major favourite to win this fight.