Mixed martial arts was BANNED in many places around the world not long ago … but the sport has grown at an electric pace, and Henry Cejudo predicts it’ll soon be the biggest sport in the world!

Triple C joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) … where the former champ-champ was asked about the UFC’s historic (and massive) $7.7 BILLION media rights deal with Paramount, and whether he could’ve ever imagined the sport reaching these heights.

“No, I didn’t [imagine MMA could get this big],” the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer said.

In 2001, Dana White, along with Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, bought the struggling organization for $2 million. A decade and a half later, in mid-2016, they sold the UFC to WME for over $4 billion!

Less than 10 years later, the nearly $8 billion media deal was struck … plainly said, the UFC has been a rocket ship.

One of the main reasons — highly anticipated events like UFC 319, featuring a potential Fight of the Year contender, middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis vs. undefeated challenger Khamzat Chimaev!