MMA legend Henry Cejudo has just made a successful return to combat sports, as he managed to defeat the former ONE Championship flyweight world champion Kairat Akhmetov in a submission grappling match. It was a surprising choice from the former two-weight UFC world champion, as he made the journey all the way to Astana, Kazakhstan to face Akhmetov at Alash Pride 108 on May 27th, 2025. It was a relatively short match at just five minutes of regulation time and both men wanted to win the standing exchanges and take top position. That meant that neither man was able to find the finish, and Cejudo was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
It was largely fought on the feet as both men battled for dominant position in the clinch, but Cejudo was keeping up a higher pace and actually attempting takedowns more often. That paid off too, as he was able to hit a clean inside trip and even progress in to side control afterward. Akhmetov scrambled back to his feet and they continued fighting in the clinch, but Cejudo hit another inside trip in the final minute. He chained it with a double-leg and into a bodylock takedown as Akhmetov tried to escape, only for Akhmetov to scramble free again and take top position in Cejudo’s guard as the match ended.
It’s no surprise that it was a hard-fought match on the feet, as Akhmetov is a three-time Kazakhstan national Greco-Roman wrestling champion with an impressive MMA career. He hasn’t fought since 2023, but he holds a 30-2 professional record with 12 submission wins and a ONE world title. Cejudo is a whole other level though of course, as he won multiple Pan American championships and a gold medal in the Olympics for freestyle wrestling. He also won and defended both the UFC flyweight and bantamweight world titles during his prime, although his return from retirement has seen him lose 3 fights in a row prior to this match.
The full grappling match between Henry Cejudo and Kairat Akhmetov was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Sport+ Kazakhstan:
