UFC 249: Cejudo announces retirement after defending title

Henry Cejudo, 33, surprisingly called time on his UFC career following Saturday's second-round TKO against Dominick Cruz.

Published : May 10, 2020 11:17 IST

Henry Cejudo scored a contentious second-round TKO over Dominic Cruz.
Henry Cejudo scored a contentious second-round TKO over Dominic Cruz.
lightbox-info

Henry Cejudo scored a contentious second-round TKO over Dominic Cruz.

Henry Cejudo announced his shock retirement after retaining his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.

Cejudo scored a contentious second-round TKO over Cruz as the UFC returned behind closed doors in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The co-main event was stopped at 4:50 of the second round before former flyweight champion Cejudo surprisingly called time on his UFC career.

"I'm happy with my career; I've done enough in the sport," Cejudo, 33, said during his post-fight interview insight the Octagon.

READ |

"I want to walk away; I want to enjoy myself. I'm 33 years old. I have a girl now, a man 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 gonna let nobody take that away from me."

Two-time former titleholder Cruz was fighting for the first time in 1,226 days and he was left frustrated by the referee's decision to stop the bout at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

"I'm not happy with the stoppage because I specifically asked the referee to let me go," Cruz said. "I was on my way up. I was definitely still aware what was going on I get there were unanswered blows, that's part of the fight. You can't be standing out and be knocked out at the same time."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment