UFC Brooklyn: Henry Cejudo dominates T.J. Dillashaw in 32 seconds, potentially saves the flyweight division

It appeared that the UFC was banking on a T.J. Dillashaw win to open up the new ESPN era. He would have become a double champion and the flyweights would have basically been put in the rearview mirror. Henry Cejudo decided to spoil the party.

In front of a sold-out crowd inside the Barclays Center and on ESPN+, Cejudo stopped Dillashaw in 32 seconds to retain his UFC Flyweight Title.

Cejudo (14-2) was hot right out of the gate, landing a quick kick and punch that dropped Dillashaw (16-4) to the floor. He used his wrestling ability to hold Dillashaw down before serving vicious shots to the face. The current Bantamweight Champion could not protect himself and the referee called the contest in favor of Cejudo.

BESTIA!!!!! @HenryCejudo #UFCBrooklyn pic.twitter.com/Xb2jqA7BOo

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) January 20, 2019

HENRY CEJUDO!!!!!!!

Messaged. Sent. WOW!!!!! #UFCBrooklyn @HenryCejudo pic.twitter.com/5gx41CdUOM

— UFC (@ufc) January 20, 2019

Cejudo has now won four in a row. A delirious Dillashaw stated after the fight: “Congrats to Henry Cejudo. Great job, but you didn’t beat me.”

Some, like Dana and Dillashaw, are saying that the referee stopped the fight too early. By seeing what was going on, he might have saved Dillashaw there.

“I thought it was a great stoppage, I felt his body go limp,” said Cejudo after the fight. “If not that would have been another 10-20 hits to the face.”

This was a huge victory for Cejudo, who stated he was doing it for the flyweight division. After he beat Demitrious Jonhson for the belt, the dissolution of the flyweights seemed inevitable. Before the Dillashaw fight, fighters were getting cut left and right. At the pre-fight press conference, Cejudo tried making a bet with Dana that if he won the division stays. It is unknown what the future holds for the division now. Cejudo might already have found another challenger for his belt in Joseph Benavidez, who defeated Dustin Ortiz via unanimous decision earlier in the night.

Cejudo is also very willing to move up in weight to face Dillashaw for his title. If that was the case, the competitive nature of Cejudo could be tested, but what will the state of Dillashaw be? His weight cut heading into this fight was deemed controversial.

Time will tell what the UFC’s plans are for Cejudo. Even if it was a small delay, the flyweights got their moment to stay relevant and (most importantly) alive in the combat sports world.