‘The King of Cringe’ Henry Cejudo stunned the MMA world by saying he was retirement from the sport shortly after beating Dominick Cruz by second-round TKO at UFC 249, but is his announcement legit?
Cejudo’s combat career is a remarkable one. His trophy cabinet contains an Olympic gold medal, two UFC titles – both of which he has defended – and now he can add the names of the consensus greatest 135lb fighter in MMA history to his list of victims.
For most, that would be more than a career’s worth of achievements but Cejudo has packed his ascent into all-time great territory into just 18 months. His recent list of victories reads like a who’s-who of mixed martial arts royalty: Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw and now Dominick Cruz, champions all of them, have now all been felled by Cejudo in an incredibly impressive run of wins – but according to Cejduo, Saturday night was the last time that we will ever see him compete.
“I’m the greatest combat sports athlete of all time,” Cejduo told Joe Rogan inside the cage following the victory.
“I’m happy with my career. I’ve done enough in the sport. I want to walk away and enjoy myself. Since I was 11 years old, I’ve 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. Triple C’s out. You don’t have to hear my ass no more.”
Henry Cejudo announces he is retiring effective immediately.“Triple C is out,” he says.
Legendary @HenryCejudo my congratulations. You are the beast.
However, not everyone is convinced that Saturday was the last time we will see Cejudo compete. It had been reported that Cejudo was upset with the UFC for not receiving a significant boost in pay after he won the vacant bantamweight title in a fight with Marlon Moraes last summer, leading to speculation that Cejudo’s announcement was aimed at compelling the UFC to open their checkbook to retain his services.
The best contract negotiation ever ?
I know Cejudo really wanted a big pay raise after beating Moraes, and he didn’t get that. That bugged him. One wonders if his announcement tonight had anything to do with that.
Somebody’s looking for that new contract, no way he’s retiring
If indeed Cejudo’s retirement is a permanent one, he leaves behind an outstanding legacy. He is the only fighter to have beaten both Cruz and Demetrious Johnson, the two fighters many considered to be greatest in their respective division’s history.
Fittingly for the ‘King of Cringe’, he has usurped both of their thrones to become a surefire Hall of Fame candidate and, with Dana White confirming after the event that Cejudo has relinquished his bantamweight title, it seems that the king is indeed dead. For now, at least.
