UFC 249: Henry Cejudo defends title – Finishes Dominick Cruz!
The finishes continued at UFC 249, with Henry Cejudo lining up another knockout.
The bantamweight title was at stake in the co-main event at UFC 249. Reigning champion Henry Cejudo would make his first defence against returning, former champ Dominck Cruz. There was no shortage of barbs traded ahead of the bout, with the two engaging in verbal sparring on several occasions.
Cejudo utilised hard leg kicks in the opening round to disrupt Cruz’ movement. Pressing forward throughout most of the round Cejudo got off to a strong start. After consulting with long-time coach Eric del Fiero, Cruz entered the second bout more aggressive, landing more strikes. The bantamweight king returned fire, however, hitting Cruz with a variety of strikes. During an exchange the two fighters butted heads, opening a cut on Cejudo.
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When the fighters reset Cejudo threw several hard strikes a hard knee that dropped Cruz. The bantamweight champ followed up with ground strikes, while Cruz desperately tried to regain his composure. Referee Keith Peterson had seen enough though, stopping the fight. The commentators questioned the stoppage, as did Cruz, who strongly disagreed with it, but Cejudo’s first title defence was officially in the books.
After the fight Cejudo announced his retirement from MMA, deciding to focus on other endeavours.
