Demetrious Johnson believes Henry Cejudo would have defeated Aljamain Sterling under ONE Championship rule set: “Oh, 1,000 percent”

Demetrious Johnson believes Henry Cejudo would’ve gotten his hand raised over Aljamain Sterling if it was fought under ONE Championship rules.

At UFC 288 last weekend, Aljamain Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo. He did so via split decision, following an incredibly tight main event for the UFC bantamweight championship. When it was all said and done, many felt as if it was one of the tightest UFC title fights in recent years.

The contest was, obviously, scored round by round, as is the case in UFC. Over in ONE Championship, however, they not only have open scoring, but they also allow certain strikes to be utilized.

Someone who knows that better than most is Demetrious Johnson. During a recent interview, ‘Mighty Mouse’ explained why he thinks Cejudo would’ve been able to get the better of Sterling under ONE rules.

“Oh, 1,000 percent [he would’ve won under ONE rules],” Johnson said. “One of the things when I was watching with Matt (Hume), Aljo would shoot – and he did it with Petr Yan – he would shoot and fail his shot, or Henry would sprawl and (Sterling) would sit like this [swings head from side to side]. He would use the (prohibited) knee to a grounded opponent to his advantage.

Johnson backs Cejudo

“It’s smart on Aljo’s part because he knows that Henry doesn’t have the right tools. … But if it’s in ONE Championship, when he shot and had the quarter Nelson or the head, he could’ve kneed Aljo in the face and would’ve forced Aljo to move to not stall there and move to a different place. I watched the fight live, and I recorded myself (saying), ‘Knee, knee, knee, knee.’ And I was like, ‘Sh*t, you can’t knee there because it’s not ONE Championship.’”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Do you agree with Demetrious Johnson? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!