By The Numbers: Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz

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An encroaching threat from the past has drawn Henry Cejudo’s undivided attention.

“The Messenger” will put his undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title on the line against former champion Dominick Cruz in the UFC 249 co-main event on Saturday at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The outcome figures to set the course of the 135-pound weight class for the rest of 2020 and beyond.

In position to carve out a much more substantial legacy, Cejudo finds himself on a five-fight winning streak. The Fight Ready standout last competed in June, when he put away Marlon Moraes with punches in the third round of their UFC 238 pairing and laid claim to the vacant bantamweight crown. Cejudo was a gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he defeated Tomohiro Matsunaga in the 55-kilogram final.

The snakebitten Cruz has not fought since he was dethroned by Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207 in late 2016. Once one of MMA’s pound-for-pound greats, “The Dominator” saw his prime years largely wiped out by a series of debilitating injuries that resulted in reconstructive surgeries on both knees and his right shoulder. Cruz as a result has been limited to just four appearances in eight-plus years, his star having been dimmed by forces beyond his control.

As Cejudo and Cruz make their final preparations, here is a by-the-numbers look at their forthcoming confrontation:

33: Years of age for Cejudo. He was born on Feb. 9, 1987 in Los Angeles.

2: Losses on Cejudo’s resume. He succumbed to knees and punches from Demetrious Johnson at UFC 197 and wound up on the wrong side of a split decision against Joseph Benavidez a little more than seven months later.

5: Undisputed bantamweight champions in UFC history, including Cejudo. The others: Cruz, Garbrandt, Renan Barao and T.J. Dillashaw.

502: Days as UFC flyweight champion for Cejudo. He upset Johnson by split decision in their UFC 227 rematch on Aug. 4, 2018, retained it with a 32-second blowout of Dillashaw at UFC Fight Night 143 on Jan. 19, 2019 and vacated it on Dec. 19, 2019 to focus his efforts at 135 pounds.

6: Cejudo takedowns executed in a unanimous decision victory over Chris Cariaso at UFC 185. It remains a career-high for the Californian, who has not landed more than three takedowns in any fight since.

34: Years of age for Cruz. He was born on Sept. 3, 1985 in San Diego.

13: Consecutive victories between Cruz’s two career losses. The Alliance MMA cornerstone submitted to a Urijah Faber guillotine choke in 2007 and did not taste defeat again until he lost a unanimous decision to Garbrandt nearly 10 years later.

1: Country in which Cruz has fought as a professional mixed martial artist. He has never competed outside the United States during his 24-fight career.

56: Seconds needed for Cruz to put away Tom Schwager with punches at a Rage in the Cage event in August 2005. Having occurred in just his third pro bout, it remains the fastest finish on the Eric Del Fierro disciple’s resume.

4: Promotions in which Cruz has competed since he arrived on the MMA scene some 15 years ago. He has gone 7-1 in World Extreme Cagefighting, 6-0 in Rage in the Cage, 5-1 in the UFC and 4-0 in Total Combat.