UFC Monterrey results: Cejudo defeats Formiga to close in on flyweight title shot

Going into Saturday nights fights, both Jussier Formiga and Henry Cejudo knew that that the winner of the fight would likely get the next title shot at Flyweight. UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson was in attendance to see who would come out on top between the two highly ranked fighters.

Formiga took control of the cage right away, pressuring Cejudo towards the fence. Cejudo threw the first two combinations of the fight which Formiga was able to dodge. While being the more active striker in the first half of the round, Cejudo was unable to hit Formiga with clean punches. Formiga was able to land several punches as Cejudo tried to close the distance. Both fighters went back and forth from striking in the pocket to throwing knees and punches in the clinch. Cejudo was able to get a nice trip off of the single leg takedown within the closing seconds of the round, ending the round on top. The round saw Cejudo narrowly outland Formiga, with both fighters landing solid knees in the clinch.

In the second round Formiga opened up by landing a good left hook on Cejudo. Both fighters did a good job at avoiding each other's punches, narrowly ducking out of exchanges, or immediately clinching, throwing knees and then breaking. This continued throughout the rest of the round, with Formiga being able to land a couple of solid left hooks, with Cejudo landing more strikes in the clinch. A fairly even round again with Cejudo outlanding Formiga but with Formiga landing the more significant strikes.

The third round saw Cejudo come out as the aggressor, landing a solid body kick while controlling Formiga in the clinch.  Cejudo's aggressiveness paid off as he was able to press Formiga against the cage and get a takedown. Formiga was able to pop right back up and circle away from the cage. After exchanging low kicks in the center of the mat, Cejudo pressed Formiga against the cage again, working on the single leg before letting go. Cejudo was able to continue to control Formiga in the clinch as the third round ended, landing knees and punches to the body. The fight went the distance with Cejudo wearing out Formiga in the clinch throughout the fight.

Henry Cejudo def. Jussier Formiga via split decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29)