Skip to content

Benavidez wins 3-round thriller over Cejudo

Henry Cejudo fought the fight of his life. It just wasn't enough to beat Joseph Benavidez.

The scorecards were all over the place, but Benavidez ended up with his hand raised over his rival Cejudo via split decision (29-27, 30-26, 27-29) in the co-main event of The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Benavidez won for the 10th time in 12 appearances at 125 pounds. His only losses in the division have come to flyweight king Demetrious Johnson. He has now won six straight fights, continuing the best stretch of his UFC tenure.

His clash with Cejudo was the culmination of the latest TUF season that saw the two contenders coaching teams comprised of the best 125-pound fighters outside of the UFC. Neither man hid their disdain for the other and that intensity carried over to their in-cage confrontation.

Once the bell rang, Cejudo showed a newfound confidence, especially in his striking. The gold medal-winning wrestler surprised Benavidez by rocking him with a left hook, but Benavidez managed to avoid the ensuing swarm and recover.

The first round would likely have been scored definitively for Cejudo were it not for a pair of low blows that earned him a point deduction.

In Round 2, Benavidez became more active and increased his lateral movement, which allowed him to poke away at Cejudo. He ducked in and out of Cejudo's power shots, landing brief combinations that kept "The Messenger" on his toes. Cejudo replied with counter shots of his own including several kicks and knees to Benavidez's body.

The final round did little to separate the two men as Benavidez continued with his stick-and-move style, while Cejudo continued to sling heavy leather. After 15 minutes of nonstop action, neither man could claim to have landed a defining blow and that was reflected on the wildly discordant scorecards.

Cejudo suffers a second straight loss after failing to dethrone Johnson in his most recent outing at UFC 197. It's the first losing streak of his young career and his professional record now stands at 10-2.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox