Henry Cejudo Removed From UFC Rankings, Bantamweight Title Vacant

Cejudo’s Retirement Looks Final

It looks like Henry Cejudo‘s retirement from mixed martial arts just might be real.

As per the UFC rankings, “Triple C” is no longer on the pound-for-pound list while he is absent from the bantamweight ranks as well with his title now being vacant.

Cejudo announced he would be retiring from the sport following his controversial second-round TKO win over Dominick Cruz earlier this month at UFC 249.

Many were initially skeptical about whether Cejudo was serious about calling time on his career. Some suggested it was a negotiating tactic so that he would be paid more, especially as he is still in the prime of his career.

It didn’t help matters that Cejudo’s own manager Ali Abdelaziz flat out denied his retirement was final, adding that he would fight again in the summer.

Then again, Cejudo’s coach Eric Albarracin contradicted Abdelaziz’s statement by stating that he believed his pupil’s retirement was in fact permanent.

“I would never say never but it is permanent,” he said. “When Henry won the Olympics in 2008 everyone thought he would go two or three more and he said I’m done the next day. We’ve seen this before. He came back in 2012 but his heart wasn’t in it. He knows you can’t take two or three years off from this game and come back at the top. Cruz did it, but it’s really hard so I think he is done.”

With this new development, it may be that Cejudo is actually done. That means a new bantamweight champion will have to be crowned and as per UFC president Dana White, we know one person who will be competing for the vacant strap.

What do you make of Cejudo being removed from the rankings?