Henry Cejudo officially removed from UFC rankings, bantamweight title vacant

Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo has officially been removed from the UFC rankings and his 135lbs is now listed as vacant.

Cejudo shocked the MMA world when he abruptly retired following a second-round TKO win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. Following the victory, Cejudo took the microphone and said that he was hanging up his gloves. It was a move that surprised most fans, fighters, and fellow media, though UFC president Dana White said that the UFC already knew about Cejudo’s intentions to retire long ago.

Despite Cejudo claiming he was retiring, White said that he would leave the door open for him to return to the bantamweight division and defend his belt. Well, it looks like Cejudo has made up his mind. As spotted by BJPenn.com’s own Cole Shelton, Cejudo has been removed from the UFC rankings and the bantamweight title is listed as vacant.

The UFC rankings have been updated and Henry Cejudo has been removed from the P4P lists while the bantamweight title is now vacant. Interesting… #UFC pic.twitter.com/ekC90fTbke

— Cole Shelton (@ColeShelton91) May 24, 2020

The UFC rankings have been updated and Henry Cejudo has been removed from the P4P lists while the bantamweight title is now vacant. Interesting… #UFC

White and the UFC had obviously held out hope that Cejudo would change his mind, but two weeks after saying he would hang up his gloves it appears that “Triple C” has officially made up his mind. Indeed, Cejudo’s trainer Eric Albarracin said in a recent interview that he believed Cejudo would hang up his gloves for good. It looks like he has.

For the bantamweight division, this means that the belt will now be up for grabs. White has mentioned that Petr Yan would fight for the belt next if Cejudo did indeed vacate it, and it seems possible the winner of UFC 250’s Aljamain Sterling vs. Cory Sandhagen could fight Yan for the belt later on.

Cejudo has been removed from the pound-for-pound top-15 rankings, and heavyweight star Francis Ngannou has taken a spot on the P4P rankings in his place.

What do you think is next for the UFC bantamweight division now that Henry Cejudo has retired?