UFC star Henry Cejudo ready for life after retirement

MANILA, Philippines – Henry “Triple C” Cejudo stunned the world by announcing his retirement from the UFC just after defending his bantamweight title against Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz recently.

Cejudo, who has an Olympic gold medal in wrestling and titles in two UFC divisions under his belt, considered himself as the greatest combat sport athlete of all time and said he wanted to leave the sport on top.

“Ultimately, I’m happy and I’m satisfied with my career,” Cejudo said after the stoppage win over Cruz. “How many can say that they’re leaving on top? Money can’t give you that, (it) really can’t.”

The 33-year-old fighter also said he never planned to stay in the game for a long time and mulled retirement after undergoing a shoulder surgery.

Despite his decision to leave the octagon for good, Cejudo will keep his doors open to other endeavors, such as joining the WWE and a possible reality show that will feature his retirement life as a realtor. 

“I would like to get into real estate and then eventually start like my own HGTV show,” he said.

“I don’t know that much about real estate but I’m very intrigued by it and I would love for the cameras to follow me around to see me step-by-step, all the mistakes that I’m going make, all the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

But more than his business plans, Cejudo said he looks forward to the next chapter of his life that includes settling down, revealing he does not see himself fighting inside the octagon while raising a child. 

The champion also shrugged off rumors that his retirement is just a publicity stunt.

“God bless everybody who doesn’t believe me but you guys will not be seeing this thing unless I’m cringing somebody,” he said.

Cejudo capped off his career with a 6-fight winning streak that saw him defeat former UFC titlists TJ Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson. – Rappler.com