"I felt played"- Henry Cejudo gets honest with Chael Sonnen and talks about the "real" reason for his retirement

Henry Cejudo recently opened up about the real reason behind his retirement from the sport. The former UFC double-champion called time on his professional MMA career after a TKO victory over Dominick Cruz in May 2020.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Henry Cejudo revealed to Chael Sonnen what prompted him to announce his retirement following his win over 'The Dominator'.

According to 'Triple C', he was promised a huge increase in pay by the UFC if he captured a second belt in the promotion. However, Cejudo - who became a dual-weight champion - was left disappointed when those promises were not met.

Here's what 'Triple C' said:

"My retirement was sincere. My pay wasn't being up, I'm doing all this entertainment for just, you know what I'm saying? I just felt I didn't feel that mutual respect. What I mean by respect is financially. Come on, up me a little bit man, up me a little bit. You know, especially when somebody gives you their word that you win a second belt, you're going to be making heavyweight money. This is where I felt played."

Cejudo continued:

"So I'm like, 'Alright dude, I'm done playing... I'm going to take my bond and I'm just going to leave, or you know what? You can have your bond, I'm just going to leave.'"

During the conversation, Henry Cejudo also stated that he had been involved in negotiations for a better payout from the UFC ever since there was talk of a potential second clash with T.J. Dillashaw in 2019.

However, since the promotion and Cejudo's management were unable to come to an agreement, 'Triple C' chose to vacate and retire at the time.

Watch Henry Cejudo discuss his reason to announce retirement below (starting at the 6:18 mark):

The likes of Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, and Amanda Nunes have all reaped the rewards of being dual-weight champions. Keeping that in mind, Cejudo's frustrations were understandable considering the numerous accolades the former Olympian has to his name.

It’s more like the only one @ufc get right! 🥇🥇🥇 twitter.com/ufc/status/125…

Demetrious Johnson offers to train with Henry Cejudo ahead of 'Triple C's' return

Demetrious Johnson avenged his loss against Adriano Moraes with an impressive fourth-round knockout last month. Following the victory, 'Mighty Mouse' got on a FaceTime call with Henry Cejudo to celebrate.

The former Olympic gold medalist was seemingly impressed with Johnson's performance. Cejudo also admired the 36-year-old's beautiful clinch work and his impressive knee attacks.

'Mighty Mouse', who trained with Cejudo for his rematch with Moraes, was appreciative of the former dual-weight champion for helping him prepare for the fight. Johnson also offered to help 'Triple C' improve on his clinch and ground game:

"I know you're in USADA pool and you are getting ready to fight. So, when you're ready I'm coming out on November, so we will work on some clinch and work on some of your ground work."

Watch Cejudo interact with Demetrious Johnson in the video below: