Henry Cejudo is going out on top. "Triple C" successfully defended his UFC bantamweight title at UFC 249, stopping Dominick Cruz in the second round of the co-main event. But what came next was an even bigger shock; the former Olympic gold medalist and UFC flyweight champion announced his retirement.
“I’m happy with my career. I’ve done enough in the sport. I want to walk away... I am 33 years old. I have a girl now. 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 anyone take that from me. I’m retiring tonight, Joe. I’m 33 years old. I’m happy with my career. Again, Uncle Dana [White], I want to say thank you. You’re the man. … Triple C’s out. You don’t have to hear my a-- no more.”
Cejudo certainly sounded authentic in his retirement. As a former double champion — one of only four UFC fighters to hold two titles simultaneously — and an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling (2008, Beijing), there's little left for Cejudo to accomplish. He toyed with the idea of going for a third UFC title but that seemed to be all talk.
If his retirement sticks, he'd be going out on top of one of the most successful careers. But Cejudo is also a showman and it's possible this could be his way of commanding more money from the UFC in a future contract.
In any case, his retirement was a shocking cap to an otherwise dominant performance. As for the fight itself, it was your typical Cejudo performance that ended with a bit of a controversial stoppage. Towards the end of the second round, Cejudo sent Cruz to the canvas with a powerful knee that he followed with a flurry of punches. Cruz took multiple shots while on the mat but as he appeared to be getting to his feet, referee Keith Peterson jumped in and called a stop to the fight at 4:58 of round two. Cruz immediately popped up and argued the ref's decision, but to no avail.
Wth the win, Cejudo retires as a champion and with a 16-2 record. Cruz, who defended that he was getting up when the fight was called, falls to 22-3.