Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the greatest fighters of all time, but not as great as Henry Cejudo … at least according to “Triple C.”
In a recent conversation on his Pound 4 Pound podcast, Cejudo argued
that he’s ahead of Khabib on the all-timers list, despite Khabib’s impeccable 29-0 record (compared to Henry’s 16-5).
“He has not done enough,” Cejudo argued. “I’ve told this to Khabib. I don’t want to fight with the dude, but I remember we had a really heated conversation between us. Because I don’t put Khabib in front of me. I really don’t.”
Cejudo is a 2008 Olympic gold medalist in wrestling and peaked in 2019 when he moved up from being flyweight champion to capture the vacant bantamweight champion. He’d defend the 135 pound belt once before retiring for three years. He’s gone 0-3 since returning in 2023 and plans to retire after fighting Payton Talbot at UFC 323, but still believes his accomplishments outshine Nurmagomedov’s.
“If Khabib would have went up a couple of weight classes, with what he’s done, then yeah, you would have to [rank him higher], in the fashion that he’s done it,” Cejudo said. “If he could have done a little bit more, I truly do believe that Khabib would be … he would do some amazing things. I think he could, stylistically, win a title at 185 pounds, even being a 155er.”
Cejudo went so far as to argue that Khabib could have beaten Alex Pereira at 185 pounds. That being said, he then added that Pereira has the better resume since he’s captured gold in two different weight classes.
This just shows you how much stock everyone puts in fighters earning championships in multiple divisions. It’s why every UFC champion these days is looking to move up, down, or up twice rather than defend the championship. You can have a perfect record. You can defend more than anyone else. But to many fans and fighters, few accomplishments beat a second belt in another weight class.
