Henry Cejudo removed from official UFC rankings, issues statement

The UFC is currently without a bantamweight champion, officially removing Henry Cejudo from the top of the 135-pound divisional rankings.

Cejudo last set foot in the Octagon at UFC 249, where he defeated former champion Dominick Cruz in the co-main event. Following the victory, Cejudo surprisingly announced his retirement.

“I want to make an announcement. Uncle Dana, UFC, everybody, thank you so much,” said Cejudo. “I’m happy with my career. I’ve done enough in the sport. I want to walk away. I want to enjoy myself. I’m 33-years old. I have a girl now. Amanda is watching back home. She wants to start a family. Since I was 11-years old I’ve sacrificed my whole life to get to where I”m at today. I’m not going to let nobody take that from me, so I’m retiring tonight.”

His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently told TMZ Sports that he doesn’t think that Cejudo’s retirement will last long, but it appears that it is happening, at least for now.

At the UFC 249 post-fight press conference, Dana White said he would give Cejudo some time before fully accepting his retirement, but having removed him from the bantamweight rankings certainly signals that his retirement is now official.

Cejudo said as much in a Tweet on Monday thanking White for his time in the UFC.

“Thank you for the awesome experiences uncle Dana,” he wrote. “I will forever be grateful. Thank you for taking a chance on the sport that people thought would never make it. To all my coaches and fans it been a wonderful ride. Triple C is out. #retiredontop”

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Thank you for the awesome experiences uncle @danawhite I will forever be grateful. Thank you for taking a chance on the sport that people thought would never make it. To all my coaches and fans it been a wonderful ride. Triple C is out 🎤 #retiredontop pic.twitter.com/ZoHa3asoDU

— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) May 25, 2020

UFC 249: Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz recap

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