Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz battled his way back into the Top 10 of the 135-pound division after scoring consecutive victories over Casey Kenney (UFC 259) and Pedro Munhoz (UFC 269).
But can he battle his was back from the ESPN+ “Prelims” card?
That may be a requirement if “The Dominator” wants to score an eventual rematch against ex-bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo. “Triple C” called it quits after stopping Cruz at UFC 249 back in May 2020, thanks to some help from the cigarette-smoking, beer-drinking referee.
“Mr. King of the ‘Prelims,’ ya snooze, ya lose,” Cejudo wrote on Twitter. “You had your chance, and you bent those surgically-repaired knees. If I decide to come back, I’m fighting Alex Volkanovski first. Triple C ain’t fighting on no damn Prelims.”
Cruz told the combat sports media that he was frustrated by losing to a “little dork” like Cejudo after taking their UFC 249 showdown on short notice. That said, the more likely scenario is “The Dominator” gets paired off against another rebounding ex-champion like Jose Aldo.
Assuming matchmakers don’t make this fight come to fruition.