That [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag], a 2-1 favorite, stopped Dominick Cruz to defend his bantamweight title at UFC 249 may not have been a surprise to many.
What happened shortly after certainly was.
Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) got on the microphone with Joe Rogan for his post-fight interview after a TKO over former champion Cruz (22-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) with two seconds left in the second round and announced his MMA retirement.
“I’m happy with my career. I’ve done enough in the sport. I want to walk away,” Cejudo said. “I want to enjoy myself. I’m 33 years old – I have a girl now who’s watching back home. I eventually want to start a family. Since I was 11 years old, I sacrificed my whole life to get where I’m at today. I’m not going to let nobody take that from me. So I’m retiring tonight. I’m 33 years old. I’m happy with my career. Uncle Dana (White), I want to say thank you for everything. You’re the man. … Thank you so much, but ‘Triple C’s’ out. You guys don’t have to hear my ass no more.”
The title defense was Cejudo’s first at 135 pounds. He also held the flyweight title, but vacated it this past December about six months after he became a dual champion.
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Cejudo won an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Games. He took up MMA in 2013 and made his way to the UFC as a 6-0 pro. He started at bantamweight in the UFC after some weight issues at flyweight. But after his promotional debut win, he moved back to 125 pounds and rattled off three straight wins.
His 4-0 start in the promotion, all decisions, got him a title shot in 2016 against Demetrious Johnson. But Johnson handed him his first pro loss with a first-round TKO at UFC 197.
In his next outing, Cejudo dropped a split decision to Joseph Benavidez. But after that, he started a 6-0 run to end, for now, his MMA career. After wins over Wilson Reis and Sergio Pettis, he got another shot at Johnson and came through.
Cejudo won a split decision from Johnson at UFC 227 in August 2018 to win the flyweight belt. That fight was Johnson’s last in the UFC before moving to ONE Championship. Against former bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw in January 2019, he defended the flyweight belt with a 32-second TKO.
Then he moved up to bantamweight and went after Dillashaw’s former belt, then vacated, and stopped Marlon Moraes to become the promotion’s latest dual champion.
It seems more MMA fighters return from retirement announcements than actually stay retired, so it remains to be seen if Cejudo, seemingly in his fighting prime, will stay away. But for now, he says it’s the end of the line for him – and he goes out with three straight TKO wins in title fights.
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