The reign of “Triple C,” Henry Cejudo, is now officially over.
Cejudo, who once held both the UFC flyweight and bantamweight championships, officially vacated his bantamweight belt.
The former U.S. Olympic wrestling gold medalist announced plans to retire following a successful title defense against Dominick Cruz. Most, though, believed it to just be a publicity stunt in order to gain the upper hand in future contract negotiations.
When the UFC released the latest rankings, Cejudo was no longer listed as bantamweight champion. He also was removed from the overall pound-for-pound rankings after holding a spot in the Top-5.
UFC president Dana White said after UFC 249 that the promotion would move quickly to crown a new champion. No further news has been made public on that.
One likely candidate to fight for the vacant UFC bantamweight title is Petr Yan, who was a top contender for the belt when Cejudo held it.
In the wake of hearing the UFC’s announcement, Cejudo took to Twitter to confirm his retirement.
“Thank you for the awesome experiences uncle @danawhite,” he posted. “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.”
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
Ali Abdelaziz, part of Cejudo’s management team, wrote on Twitter “It will never be other @HenryCejudo nobody will accomplish the things he accomplished in combat sports.
“Triple C live forever.”
My brother ❤️ https://t.co/DGlRqwy1Nj
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) May 26, 2020