Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw is still campaigning for a rematch with Henry Cejudo. Dominick Cruz is not a fan of how he’s going about it.
“The Messenger” demolished Dillashaw in only 32 seconds in the main event of last month’s UFC on ESPN+1 from Brooklyn. But the stoppage was a highly controversial one, and Dillashaw has spent the time since asking to run it back. Cejudo has said he’s willing to do it at Dillashaw’s normal weight class of 135 pounds. But ‘The Viper’ wants to prove he can win at 125 pounds after working so hard to make that cut.
One fighter close to the situation is not a fan of how Dillashaw has handled the situation. That fighter is former bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz, who went off on his old rival on the UFC Unfiltered podcast (via MMA Fighting) this week. Cruz thinks Dillashaw should just move on:
“I look at this and say, is this how insignificantly stupid you are?” Cruz said. “To think you complaining and whining about a stoppage is gonna change anything? You just sound like a moron. Like, nothing is gonna change.
“You might as well just accept what just happened to you and try to grab a hold of your balls instead of run from them and admit the loss. Because you just got knocked out by a [125er]. And you dropped down to a weight class that dried out your brain and you might not have been as durable as you are at 135.”
Compromised From Cutting Weight?
Cruz and Dillashaw have a long history. ‘The Dominator’ famously returned from one of his many injury layoffs to beat Dillashaw by decision in January 2016. That bout was a controversial split decision, and Dillashaw maintained that he won that fight for a long while afterward as well. His bout with Cejudo was different, however, as he was stopped. Cruz claims that was a product of his draining cut:
“There’s a reason why I never cut down to 125 and it’s not because I couldn’t make it,” Cruz said. “It’s because I knew at that level your brain, with the weight that I cut, it’s dried out and you’re not as durable. A huge part of cutting weight and fighting and coming back from the weight cut is how you do the cut. And the reason why that’s important is it helps your durability. And you have to be durable in these fights, because no matter who you are, you’re getting punched. Everybody gets punched. It’s just a matter of if it puts your lights out or not.”
Ref Saved Him
To him, the ref was only trying to save Dillashaw’s health. He said Dillashaw was taking heavy damage. Overall, he shouldn’t have put himself in that much danger by cutting that much weight:
“Now, that’s what he’s saying. ‘Well, he didn’t put my lights out, it should have never have been stopped.’ OK, but did it get stopped? Yes. Why? Because the ref thought he had to save your life. You got kicked in the face, you got an overhand right and you were getting pounded from the top position. The guy was just trying to keep your safe, T.J. So, in the end, maybe don’t put yourself in that position by cutting so much weight.”
In terms of the big picture, Cruz thinks it’s time for Dillashaw to move on. He still has the belt at bantamweight and isn’t injured. The fact he’s making excuses isn’t doing him any favors, and Cruz believes he’ll get his Cejudo rematch:
“Let’s see what happens at 135,” Cruz said. “I’m sure that fight [between Dillashaw and Cejudo] is gonna happen. But it’s a sad display for me for the 135-pound division. It just showed what a weak-minded champion we have, in my personal opinion, to not admit defeat when it happens and just make a bunch of sorry excuses. It’s sad to me. He should just take it and move
“He’s still going to fight, he’s gonna get another shot. He’s not injured, he’s not hurt. So it’s like, what kind of example are you leaving for yourself and everybody else just crying and whining about nothing that can be changed?”
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