One of the strangest callouts in UFC history came courtesy of Dominick Cruz earlier this year following UFC 259, as he blasted Monster representative Hans Molenkamp and suggested that he was making unreasonable demands and threatened to withhold sponsorship money.
Following his prolonged return to the UFC octagon against Casey Kenney, Cruz took the time to call out Molenkamp on national television in his post-fight interview. Many around the MMA community were confused with Cruz’s comments and who Molenkamp was, to begin with.
Cruz has since suggested that Molenkamp’s self-proclaimed relationship with fighters was overblown, and accused him of attempting to use fighters’ names to boost his own reputation.
During a recent sit-down on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Cruz provided an update on what has happened with him and Monster Energy since his comments.
Dominick Cruz clarified his beef with Monster Energy’s Hans Molenkamp during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani
“This is never been about [Monster Energy], this has been about my relationship with one person,” “We needed to hash some things out, set some boundaries, and communicate. When you look at the big picture, I’m responsible for everything I create in my life. So it was my responsibility to create a boundary with him. Man to man, eye to eye, you shouldn’t have to say that to another man. But we’re living in a world where the internet can botch reality.”
“I’m still completely open to a charity fight with Hans Molenkamp. He might be open to that too.”
Cruz is set to face Pedro Munhoz at UFC 269 on Dec. 11 as he looks to get back in the thick of things in the bantamweight division. He’s lost two of his last three bouts and has dealt with a series of ongoing injury issues.
It appears that while Cruz’s relationship with Monster Energy is still sustainable, it’s perfectly clear that he doesn’t take clout chasing very lightly.
What are your thoughts on Dominick Cruz’s comments?