Cejudo officially relinquishes title after UFC 249 retirement

The UFC's bantamweight division needs a new champion.

Henry Cejudo has officially relinquished his title after retiring at UFC 249 earlier in May, promotion officials told MMA Fighting's Damon Martin.

Cejudo was removed from the UFC's bantamweight rankings, pound-for-pound rankings, and list of champions on its website Sunday.

The 33-year-old announced his surprise retirement after a second-round TKO win over former champion Dominick Cruz in the UFC 249 co-main event May 9 in Jacksonville. It was Cejudo's first defense of the bantamweight title. "Triple C" also previously held the UFC flyweight title.

Cejudo's manager Ali Abdelaziz said last week he doesn't think the former two-division champion will actually retire and expects Cejudo to return to the Octagon this summer.

However, Cejudo's head coach Eric Albarracin believes the Arizona native will stay retired.

Cejudo left the sport riding a six-fight winning streak, including wins over former flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, ex-bantamweight titleholder T.J. Dillashaw, and Marlon Moraes.

A vacant bantamweight title fight has not yet been scheduled but it's expected to include No. 3 contender Petr Yan, according to UFC president Dana White.