Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has signed Olympic gold medalist and world-renowned freestyle wrestler Henry Cejudo, who will make his Octagon debut against Scott Jorgensen at the upcoming UFC 177 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sat., Aug. 30, 2014, inside the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California.
Cejudo captured gold in Beijing back in 2008, but failed to get past the Olympic trials when he returned to the mats in 2012. The 6-0 flyweight didn't start his mixed martial arts (MMA) career until March 2013, and at times has struggled to stay consistent on the scale.
From his conversation with UFC.com:
"It feels good to be part of the UFC family finally. I always wanted to become a student of the game and at least get six to eight fights before coming to the UFC. Now I think I'm in my prime, and I've never felt this strong in my life. I won the Olympics at 21. I could only grow half a mustache (laughs), and now I've got a full beard. He (Jorgensen) is a tough fighter and I know it's going to be a fight. He's a wrestler, he wrestled Division I, and it's not going to be an easy fight, that's for sure. But I'm ready. You could say I was born ready, and if that's who they want me to fight, that's who I'll fight. My goal is to become a world champion."
He'll need to upend a crafty veteran to do so.
Jorgensen (15-9) finally got back into the win column after a dreadful three-fight skid. "Young Guns" secured a unanimous decision victory over Danny Martinez last month in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and could get right back into the mix by playing spoiler in "Sac-Town."
Who ya' got?
UFC 177 will be headlined by the bantamweight championship rematch pitting reigning division kingpin, TJ Dillashaw, against Brazilian nemesis and ex-titleholder Renan Barao. Elsewhere on the card, Derek Brunson and Lorenz Larkin hook 'em up in a battle of Strikeforce veterans, while Danny Castillo and Anthony Ferguson butt heads in lightweight action.
For the current UFC 177 fight card and line up click here.