diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/ml/build.gradle b/x-pack/plugin/ml/build.gradle
index e0cd1b45f63ad..706d7ea73aea9 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/ml/build.gradle
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/ml/build.gradle
@@ -93,11 +93,9 @@ dependencies {
   testImplementation "com.google.jimfs:jimfs:${versions.jimfs}"
 }
 
-def mlCppVersion() {
-  def mlVersion = "8.16.0" // Just use the latest 8.x builds until we have 9.0 snapshots
+def mlCppVersion(){
   return (project.gradle.parent != null && BuildParams.isSnapshotBuild() == false) ?
-      // (project.version + "-SNAPSHOT") : project.version;
-      (mlVersion + "-SNAPSHOT") : mlVersion;
+      (project.version + "-SNAPSHOT") : project.version;
 }
 
 artifacts {