CEJUDO: continued from page 18
need to focus on winning this fight, and then I can worry about my next fight. I will be ready to take on whoever they want to put in front of me. If anybody knows my story, don't underesti- mate me.” Cejudo’s 2008 Olympic teammate, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, has been impressed with Cejudo’s progression in MMA. Cormier also serves as a television com- mentator on FOX Sports.
“Henry has done amazingly well,” Cormier said. “Demetrious Johnson is the champion at his weight class, and he is really good. It will take a special athlete to beat him, but Henry is a special athlete. Henry hasn’t even had to wrestle in his fights. He’s been winning with his boxing. When he starts wrestling guys, watch out. He’s going to be really dangerous.” Cejudo is among a large number of wrestlers who continue to excel in MMA. “To me, wrestling is still king,” Cejudo said. “So many of these
UFC stars have wrestling backgrounds. A good wrestler can defeat almost any kind of style in MMA. The best athletes in the World are wrestlers.”
Cejudo is a very busy man these days, but he did find time to complete his college degree at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix this year and he still has two books out on wrestling. “I have my degree now – I’m a college graduate,” he said. “I’m happy to announce that because I think a lot of people doubted me and doubted whether I would ever get my degree. I am actually going to start working on a Master’s degree in busi- ness next year. I want to help kids from the ghetto and the inner city. I want to make a difference. I want to help kids have an
opportunity to chase their dreams like I did.” A highlight video of Cejudo’s memorable win over Japan’s
Tomohiro Matsunaga in the 2008 Olympic finals was recently posted on social media by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The video received several hundred thousand views in the first few days after it was posted. “It’s crazy – it’s pretty cool,” Cejudo said. “It just shows that people still remember that American kid from Mexican descent picking up the American flag and crying like a baby. It still gives me the chills every time I watch it. It’s hard to put into words what that moment still means to me. It obviously was very spe- cial to win an Olympic gold medal.” Cejudo has stayed very close to his wrestling roots and was in attendance during the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas.
Cejudo hasn’t ruled out a return to wrestling. He competed in an exhibition bout against two-time World Team member Tony Ramos earlier this year. Cejudo’s last big wrestling competition came when he com- peted at the 2012 Olympic Trials in Iowa City. After losing a wild and entertaining bout to Simmons, who had placed fifth at the 2011 Worlds, Cejudo tossed his shoes into the crowd as fans stood and cheered. The 2016 Olympic Trials will be back in Iowa City at Carver- Hawkeye Arena.
“It's something that always crosses my mind,” Cejudo said of possibly competing again. “I still wrestle like every other day. I still love it. I have always competed to the best of my ability. That's what wrestlers do.”
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