“As precious as these belts are, there’s no harder sport than the sport of wrestling. This is the sport that’s made me,” he said of wrestling after a UFC card where the two premier fights each featured former wrestlers. He became the first Olympic champion to win a UFC belt ( Ronda Rousey is an Olympic bronze medalist and former UFC champion).Īsked to compare his wrestling and UFC titles, Cejudo, wearing a replica Olympic gold medal with an error on it and sitting in front of a UFC belt, chose to raise the medal from around his neck. In a 10-month span in 20, Cejudo won the UFC Flyweight and UFC Bantamweight Championships. Cejudo’s story was told in a book, “American Victory.”Ĭejudo took three years away from wrestling, came back for the 2012 Olympic Trials, lost and retired. He gained instant fame for his Beijing triumph as the son of undocumented immigrants from Mexico. Cruz (24-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) expressed interest in avenging his UFC 249 title loss to Cejudo, a fight in which he was stopped by TKO in Round 2.The two-time bantamweight champion protested the stoppage, accusing referee Keith Peterson of smelling like alcohol and cigarettes. Cejudo had finished 31st in his lone senior world championships appearance in 2007. Henry Cejudo scoffed at Dominick Cruz’s recent callout. Unlike Snyder, it was truly a surprise title. Olympic wrestling champion in history, a record since broken by Kyle Snyder. In 2012, Cejudo, then 21, became the youngest U.S. □ DEFENDS AND STOPS DOMINICK CRUZ! #UFC249 /bqWcYPsuDu- UFC May 10, 2020 “I really do want to walk away, but like I said, man, money talks.” He did go back and forth in a post-fight press conference, teasing that money could lure him back, then saying he was satisfied financially. I want to remain king forever.Ĭejudo finished his mixed martial arts career with a TKO of Cruz in the second round, defending his UFC Bantamweight Championship and moving to 16-2 since 2013. I want to do it now in the sport of mixed martial arts. I’ve been extremely selfish, rightfully so, to obtain what I’ve obtained. But I want to step into that new chapter of my life. “Since I was 11 years old, I probably have about 600 competitions of wrestling matches in my life,” Cejudo, 33, said in Jacksonville, Fla., early Sunday morning with a patch of blood on his hairline from a headbutt. Since getting stopped by Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in a failed bid to reclaim his bantamweight title at UFC 249, Cruz (24-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has rebounded by winning two straight bouts, most recently rallying to outpoint Pedro Munhoz this past Saturday at UFC 269. He said that he’s the greatest combat fighter of all time. If Henry Cejudo comes back, don’t expect it to be against Dominick Cruz. Henry Cejudo announced a surprise retirement after beating Dominick Cruz at UFC 249, extending his reign as the only Olympic gold medalist to wear a UFC Championship belt.
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