Henry Cejudo celebrates after defeating Dominick Cruz in their bantamweight title fight during UFC 249 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 09, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Henry Cejudo defended his Bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 and announced his retirement
UFC Bantamweight Champion Henry Cejudo shocked the world by announcing his retirement from the promotion after defeating Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.
The match ended in a controversial fashion as Cejudo was busted open by an accidental clash of heads in the second round.
Cejudo then returned after a bit of medical attention and connected with a knee. Cruz was down as Cejudo threw several punches at him. The referee then stopped the fight, however, Cruz was getting up and seemed alright but the clash was topped.
Cruz was upset at this call but this just showed how great Cejudo is. The Olympic champion defended UFC titles in two divisions and has now decided to walk away.
He broke the news to Joe Rogan during the post-event formalities. He said he had an announcement to make and said he had achieved a lot in his career and how, he has a family and wants to walk away from the UFC.
Cejudo also thanked the UFC and Dana White for all they had done, and this got a lot of people talking.
This isn’t the first time someone has stepped away from the Octagon at the top. Georges St-Pierre is another example of a top star leaving it all behind but this was a surprise.
Cejudo had spoken about winning a belt in the third division and wanting to be the first triple champion in UFC.
But that seems to be over for now. Many fans and fighters couldn’t believe what just happened and shared their reactions on Twitter:
There are some who are suggesting that this a contract negotiation tactic though. Cejudo is one of the top stars in the world, and it will be interesting to see what happens next.
There is no doubt he is one of the best ever in the Octagon, and he still has a couple of quality years left in him.
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