Coach Eric Albarracin can pinpoint the exact moment when he knew his protégé, UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo, had turned the corner in his mixed martial arts career.
It was 2017, and fresh off back-to-back losses against Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez, Cejudo strode into a UFC 215 showdown against Wilson Reis as a fighter reborn. On that night, the Olympic gold medalist surprised many in the MMA world by debuting a new karate-esque style that led to a second-round massacre of Reis and the first stoppage victory of Cejudo’s Octagon career.