Henry Cejudo just scored his first victory since 2020, but it wasn’t under mixed martial arts rules.
The former two-division UFC champion and Olympic gold medalist in wrestling entered the Alash Pride 108 cage on May 27 in Astana, Kazakhstan, to challenge former ONE Championship flyweight titleholder Kairat Akhmetov in a five-minute grappling contest.
Cejudo and Akhmetov, both very experienced in MMA, spent the first minutes in the collar tie position. Akhmetov countered Cejudo’s first takedown move with a front lock choke attempt, easily defended by the wrestler. Cejudo’s well-timed inside trip takedown had Akhmetov on the ground, with the UFC fighter quickly moving to side control. Cejudo was unable to do much from that position before Akhmetov went back to his feet.
Cejudo managed to secure another takedown in the final minute but Akhmetov escaped to stay on top position, but with only a few seconds left on the clock. In the end, Cejudo was declared the winner via decision.
“I’ve been a big fan of his for a minute,” Cejudo said of Akhmetov after the match. “I know he was supposed to fight Demetrious Johnson but right now he’s a world champion and it’s an honor to be at this stage.”
Henry Cejudo derrota por decision a Kairat Akhmetov en combate de grappling #AlashPride108 pic.twitter.com/SNTQM23wQn
— Barrele la pierna (@Barrelelapierna) May 27, 2025
Cejudo, 16-5 in MMA, lost his past three in a row under the UFC banner against Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili and Song Yadong. The former champiojn, who scored his last MMA win with a knockout over Dominick Cruz in May 2020, has flirted with the idea of fighting one final time in the sport after an eye injury suffered against Yadong ended his most recent outing.
Akhmetov is 30-2 in MMA with key wins over Adriano Moraes and Geje Eustaquio under the ONE banner, but hasn’t competed for the Asian promotion since a decision over Reece McLaren in May 2023, his sixth straight victory since 2018.
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