video recap: Cejudo finishes Cruz in controversial stoppage

Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

A controversial stoppage concluded the co-main event of UFC 249 as Henry Cejudo defeated Dominick Cruz by second round TKO.

Henry Cejudo stopped Dominick Cruz at the end of the second round to defend his bantamweight title at UFC 249, and then seemingly retired from professional competition.

What was the high point of the fight?

Cejudo decided to keep the fight on the feet and not attempt any takedowns in the early rounds. “The Messenger” had good success attacking the lead leg of Cruz in the first round. Cruz was still finding success on the feet through his unorthodox movement and was landing some good counter punches on Cejudo.

Cejudo landed a knee after a break in the clinch that sent Cruz to the canvas. After following up with some ground and pound shots, referee Keith Peterson stopped the fight as it seemed Cruz was attempting to get back to his feet.

Where do both men go from here?

Despite recently outlining his plans to move up and fight for the featherweight title after this fight, Cejudo announced he was retiring from MMA in his post-fight interview. If that is the case, it’s been a fantastic end to Cejudo’s career beating names such as Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw.

The loss is just the third of Cruz’s professional career, and his first by knockout. It’s hard to play match maker at the moment for Cruz, who protested the stoppage in his post-fight interview by saying he was working his way up back up to his feet during the follow up shots from Cejudo.

Watch it now, later or never?

Watch it now to see the heavily debated stoppage.