UFC Brooklyn: Henry Cejudo Fires Back at T.J. Dillashaw’s Early Stoppage Claims

T.J. Dillashaw repeatedly blasted the referee for stopping his bout with Henry Cejudo, so much so, he’s questioning how the flyweight champ could be celebrating the victory. But, following the bantamweight champ’s protests, Cejudo outlined his case for why the ref got it right.

The stars faced off in the headliner of UFC Brooklyn, and not long in, Cejudo stunned Dillashaw with a right hand. As Dillashaw attempted to battle back and scramble out, Cejudo landed several more punches and the fight was stopped by referee Kevin MacDonald. Dillashaw immediately protested the stoppage and in the post-fight presser, he did so again.

Well, when Cejudo was asked for his take on what went down, the decorated wrestler said this (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“It was a great stoppage because I felt his body go limp,” Cejudo said. “You guys have to understand I weighed in at 146 pounds when I fought him. Strong, and you could see it. Every blow that he took, he was eating some hammers. Personally, I thought it was a good stoppage because he was going to take another 10, 20 hits.

“When your body goes limp like that, when you cut weight like that, thinking you’re gonna go out there and just take my belt from me, that’s not the way it works. So I think it was a great stoppage. This is why MMA is sanctioned now because of refs. If I was to talk to that ref, ‘You’re okay, man. We were both in there. We saw him go limp a few times.’ Watch it again and you’ll see it.”

“I think partially what makes T.J. good is the fact that he is a sore loser. So am I,” Cejudo said. “But you know what, at least I’m able to accept it and get better from it.

There’s no doubt that Cejudo had Dillashaw hurt, and the latter conceded he had been. Should the fight have been allowed to go on for a few more seconds, to see if Dillashaw could work his way out? When you consider the magnitude of the fight, probably. But, that doesn’t mean Cejudo didn’t look extremely impressive in the contest.

Now it remains to be seen what’s next for Cejudo and Dillashaw, or the flyweight division. Dana White, however, was non-committal on a rematch or the future of the 125 class. Considering Cejudo has now defeated two of the planet’s best fighters in Demetrious Johnson and Dillashaw, it would be pretty shocking if the UFC axed the flyweight division at this juncture.