Former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion and Olympic wrestling gold medalist Henry Cejudo spoke recently with Helen Yee, and was asked who he would put on the MMA Mount Rushmore.
“I’m not even part of the GOAT mountain to be quite honest with you," said Cejudo, as transcribed by Farah Hannoun for MMA Junkie. “But even when it comes to combat sports, he’s a part of that mountain. But in my take, it’s Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and GSP … and I would put GSP No. 4.”
“I’m not part of the GOAT mountain when it comes to the sport of mixed martial arts, but I will say this, in the GOAT mountain of combat sports, I remain No. 1. Then I would put Khabib [Nurmagomedov] with me, I would put Daniel Cormier with me, and I would put Fabricio Werdum because these are the people that have done something in combat sports and that’s it.”
For his part, in a recent, exclusive interview with Jordan Ellis for Low Kick MMA, Demetrious Johnson said the people should decide.
“That GOAT discussion is all about the public," argued Johnson. "The only person that I’ve actually seen who kinda fights for that spot or argues about it is Jon Jones. You know, Khabib mentioned he wanted to be there. At any given time, I have never asked to be in that position, people put me in that position, right? That’s when I think it’s more important, when people put you there. You can’t walk in and be like, ‘I’m the greatest of all time’ in this sport of Mixed Martial Arts – you can’t just do that. You have to let the community decide.”
“Obviously, my merits that I’ve done, my 11 consecutive title defenses, the submissions I’ve done, the different I fight, granted I could sit there and argue with people, but I ain’t got time to argue. If you think I’m the greatest of all-time thanks. If not, I’m not gonna shed one tear about it.”
“My kids, when they get older if they’re like ‘well Dad how good were you?’ ‘Well, I was one of the greatest to ever do it.’ And then they’ll be like ‘well who else was great?’ And I’d be like well Jon Jones, GSP, I could rattle off a list – Khabib Nurmagomedov. I could just rattle off a list, we were all great. We all shined in different aspects of Mixed Martial Arts but I can’t sit here and pinpoint. If I was to sit here and pinpoint, I’d be like Jon Jones. And then you’ll get ‘well Jon Jones had all this s*** and I’m like ‘well that’s your opinion and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHoXBZ7QLTg
So, UG, who's on your Mount Rushmore, beyond, of course, the obvious.
