UFC 197 Results: Demetrious Johnson Demolishes Henry Cejudo with Knees to Retain

The UFC flyweight champion of the world, No. 1-ranked Demetrious Johnson (24-2-1), continued to lay claim to being the pound-for-pound best fighter on planet Earth with a stunning TKO performance against No. 4-ranked Henry Cejudo (10-1).

Johnson finished in just 2:49 of the first round at UFC 197 on Saturday.

Cejudo wasted no time taking the center of the cage. Johnson gave him numerous looks to keep him dancing, but Cejudo did get a takedown with 3:30 remaining in the first round. Johnson pushed off and got to his feet quickly.

Johnson landed a couple of knees that got Cejudo’s attention. They remained in the clinch, where the champ landed an elbow over the top and several knees to the body. Johnson switched it up and went back to the head. Cejudo wobbled back; Johnson followed up and landed one more to the body to put Cejudo on the canvas.

And still.

Luke Thomas of MMA Fighting praised the champ's dominance:

Cejudo (29) is still young in his MMA career, and this will serve as a big learning experience. The Olympic gold medalist has tremendous wrestling and excellent boxing, but he does not have the full gamut of MMA skills that allows him to blend them successfully against someone on Johnson's level, as Bleacher Report's Mike Chiappetta expressed:

That will come over time, and he also has to account for the speed differential with Mighty Mouse.

Cejudo needs to rebound, and no one is better to rebound against than Ali Bagautinov.

Johnson has all but cleared out the flyweight division. Should he move up to bantamweight? He has competed against champion Dominick Cruz in the past (a loss at UFC on Versus 6 in 2011), but there is nothing wrong with staying at 125 pounds where he runs the show.

If he stays at 125, the UFC has to debate long and hard because he has defeated all credible challengers. Other contenders are coming off losses that eliminate them from consideration.

At bantamweight, he should get an immediate shot against the winner of Cruz vs. Urijah Faber. Will that happen? We just have to wait and see because nothing is clear at 125 or 135. Johnson may have to sit awhile before we know what’s next.

In the meantime, we can relish this amazing performance by a special athlete who doesn’t get the respect he deserves as one of the baddest men walking the world today.