Wrestlers Cejudo and Dillashaw to face off in UFC “Super Fight” on Saturday in Brooklyn

This weekend, I’m off to New York City to cover my first event of 2019, but it’s not wrestling… The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., is playing host to UFC Fight Night 143 on Saturday, which will be headlined by a super fight, featuring reigning Flyweight (125 pounds) champion Henry Cejudo and current Bantamweight (135 pounds) title holder TJ Dillashaw live on ESPN+.

Dillashaw is moving down a weight and challenging for the Flyweight belt, looking to become one of few in UFC history to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously. The only others to do it are two-time Olympian Daniel Cormier, Conor McGregor and Amanda Nunes.

I’m pretty excited to cover the event as both Cejudo and Dillashaw have wrestling backgrounds, with Cejudo garnering a few more accolades during his wrestling career.

At 21 years old, Cejudo became the youngest American, at the time, to win an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling, beating out Tomohiro Matsunaga of Japan at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Additionally, Cejudo was a 2007 Senior World Team member and a 2006 Junior World silver medalist.

Dillashaw, who has found success in UFC as a two-time Bantamweight champion, was a three-time NCAA qualifier for Cal State Fullerton and recorded two top-four finishes at the Pac-12 tournament during his college days.

When it comes to the betting odds, Dillashaw, the UFC’s No. 5 pound-for-pound fighter and a knock-out specialist, is the favorite going into Saturday night’s fight, holding a 16-3 record.

If you ask the wrestling community (which I did on Twitter on Wednesday), an overwhelming majority are pulling for Cejudo, who recently claimed the Flyweight title, dethroning 11-time defending champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in August.

With the win, Cejudo, self-proclaimed as The Messenger, became the first Olympic champion to win a UFC title. The feat came just two months after he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member, the highest honor.

With the fate of the Flyweight division hanging in the balance, Cejudo (13-2-0) hopes a win against Dillashaw could potentially save the weight class, which has been rumored to be cut by the UFC.

I’m so excited to see all this play out! It should be a great event for the fans no matter who wins.

Be sure to check out our Instagram and Twitter pages (@USAWrestling) this weekend to get a cool inside look at things like weigh-ins on Friday at 6 p.m. ET as well as a NYCRTC freestyle practice on Saturday morning.