UFC 227 Cheat Sheet: Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo

A pair of rematches are slated to headline UFC 227 this weekend inside Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Former teammates-turned-rivals TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt will meet in the main event Saturday in a rematch of a riveting fight at UFC 217 last November in New York. Dillashaw stunned then-champion Garbrandt with a second-round TKO to claim the bantamweight title.

In the co-main event, all-time great Demetrious Johnson will seek his record 12th consecutive title defense against Henry Cejudo, whom he defeated by TKO in 2016.

ESPN has you covered on everything to know ahead of UFC 227.

Demetrious Johnson (27-2-1) vs. Henry Cejudo (12-2), flyweight championship

Odds: Johnson -600; Cejudo +425

Over the final leg of Johnson's historic run to an 11th consecutive UFC title defense, there was not always a ton of excitement around the opponents he faced.

The individual moments themselves, sure. It was exciting when Johnson recorded title defense No. 9 in late 2016, moving him within one of Anderson Silva's then-record. It was a big deal when Johnson tied that record in April 2017 and surpassed it in October.

But the challengers he faced in that stretch -- Tim Elliott, Wilson Reis, Ray Borg -- just didn't do much for the viewing public. Those fights were looked at as squash matches going in, and they generally played out that way.

In fact, the last time Johnson faced an opponent whom anyone really gave a shot to was at UFC 197 in April 2016, when he faced Cejudo. That's ironic, as Cejudo lasted less than three minutes with Johnson before he was knocked out by knees to the body.

Cejudo, who has changed camps since the first meeting and spent time training in Thailand, Singapore and Brazil, is quick to point out, however, he had been fighting professionally for only three years when he met Johnson the first time.

"I've thought about that loss for more than two years," Cejudo said. "I feel like I never really got a fair shake and I never gave him a fair shake of who Henry Cejudo is. I was a wrestler back then. I'm a mixed martial artist now. I've traveled the world to improve my game.

"I feel I did have the ability to beat him the first time, but I did not have the tactics or the skill. Ability is always there, but it's more of a maturity thing. This is Henry Cejudo 2.0. Not that many people get a second chance to fight for a title, and have that chance come against the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. There's a level of respect I have for him -- that's been driving me this entire time."

Johnson, 31, said it's "hard to say" how much Cejudo has improved in the past 28 months. Frankly, he's not one to obsess over such things. He noted that Cejudo's stance is still relatively similar to what it was and referred to him as a wrestler, before simply saying, "We'll find out."

"The first Cejudo fight was one of my favorites, because that's how a fight should look," Johnson said. "I didn't really have a game plan when I fought him. I never do. You work to become well-rounded and figure out an opponent when you get in there. I did that well in the first fight."

Fight breakdown

Look, there is no question Cejudo is a better fighter than he was two years ago. The experience and confidence he's gained alone makes that a true statement, but there's also evidence he's improved his standup and general fight preparation.

That said, Cejudo can't match Johnson's overall skill set. He just can't. No one can. But Cejudo is probably more capable now of landing a big shot on the feet or disguising his wrestling in ways that could make Johnson a bit uncomfortable.

One of the many, many challenges of facing Johnson is you just don't know where he is or what he's doing. He has an infinite amount of ways to beat you, and on top of that, no one is better at making in-fight adjustments. In other words, in addition to his well-roundedness, he's also the best at putting his skills into practice in ways that tip every scale in his favor. Intimidating, right?

Cejudo's most dangerous weapon in this fight is arguably his counter right hand -- and that's mostly because it's his fastest weapon. Johnson is so diverse, so fast, so unpredictable, we've seen respectable strikers empty their arsenal on him and hit nothing but air. It's not unreasonable to suggest that to beat the best fighter in the world, you have to land the perfect shot. Cejudo's right is his best bet.

His left hook is a good punch, too, but he tends to wind it up. And by the time you wind up even a millisecond on Johnson, he's long gone.

Cejudo needs to apply pressure from bell to bell -- otherwise he'll be at the mercy of Johnson's speed and angles. But he has to be efficient in doing so. Cut off the cage and constantly move forward, but pick your shots. Because swings and misses will quickly empty the tank.

As an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, of course it'd be nice for Cejudo to get this on the mat. But he will probably need to have success on the feet first before he can wrestle in a real meaningful way. If he can't successfully close distance on Johnson and pose a threat with his striking, any takedown attempts likely will come up short.

Prediction: Johnson via TKO, fifth round.