Henry Cejudo (photo via UFC / YouTube)

By FCF Staff

Henry Cejudo shocked many throughout the MMA world earlier this month by announcing he was retiring. But, the former UFC champ-champ’s manager believes Cejudo won’t stay on the sidelines for long.

After Cejudo stopped Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 and defended the bantamweight title, he announced he was hanging up the gloves. The Olympic Gold medal wrestler said he’s happy with what he’s achieved in his combat sports career, and that he wants to leave on top.

But, in a more recent interview with TMZ Sports, Cejudo’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, said this (quotes via MMA Fighting).

“First of all, people understand my relationship with Dana White and the UFC. I don’t talk about money publicly,” Abdelaziz said. “I think Dana’s right: I think Henry’s been talking about retirement. Do I think Henry’s gonna retire? Absolutely not. I don’t think Henry’s gonna retire.”

“Khabib (Nurmagomedov, who Abdelaziz also represents) right? Every time he fights, ‘I think I’m done.’ Two weeks later, ‘Who do you think I should fight next?’ Right? These guys, they’re at their prime. Henry’s gonna be coming now in his prime. How you gonna retire in your prime, and the pay-per-view did so well, and you’ve gotta make some money? Could things be changed a little bit? Yes, of course. But at the end of the day, this is between us. It’s between me and Henry and the UFC. I don’t think the media should know about this stuff, because people’s egos get big.”

“Henry’s got everybody on their knees right now,” Abdelaziz said. “I don’t think he’s gonna retire. You’re gonna see him fight by this summer. This is what I think.

The 33 year-old Cejudo (16-2) has won six straight fights and the last person to defeat him is flyweight contender, Joseph Benavidez.