During a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience with Ben Affleck, Matt Damon shared an amusing encounter that perfectly illustrates how elite fighters can be the opposite of what you’d expect.
The story came up while Damon and Affleck were discussing stereotypes about toughness and how extraordinary people don’t always look the part. Rogan stated, “Well, you see that about MMA fighters. Like there’s a lot of MMA fighters. You meet them. They’re like the sweetest, nicest, friendliest people in the world.”
Damon recalled attending a UFC event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where he found himself backstage talking with one of the organization’s lawyers about Conor McGregor.
He stated: “I remember going to one of the events in L.A., I think it was at Staples. And I was backstage and was talking to one of like the lawyers for the UFC. And we were talking about Conor McGregor, and he was telling me a great story about him.”
“This guy walks up and he’s in chinos, like khaki pants, and like a blue button-up business shirt with spectacles, and he’s very small,” Damon explained. “And I kind of don’t really regard him and I’m still hearing this story.”
That’s when the lawyer interrupted: “Matt, do you know Henry?”
Damon turned to realize he was standing face-to-face with Henry Cejudo, the former two-division UFC champion. The actor’s reaction was immediate and honest.
“I turn and it’s Henry Cejudo and I’m like, ‘This f**king guy could wreck me, right? Absolutely f**king destroy me,'” Damon said with a laugh. “And he is the guy that some dummy would try to pick on.”
The point Damon was making resonated throughout the conversation about how truly elite MMA competitors carry themselves with quiet confidence. Cejudo, despite being an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling and a champion in two UFC weight divisions, presented himself in an unassuming, almost professorial manner that belied his lethal abilities.
“He does not… he’s not carrying himself, like he just is the thing,” Damon observed, contrasting Cejudo’s demeanor with the stereotypical tough-guy machismo many people expect from fighters.
