Bantamweight contender Petr Yan has said he is not interested in fighting former 135lb champion, Dominick Cruz.
‘The Dominator’ hasn’t fought since losing his title to Cody Garbrandt in 2016. Persistent injuries have kept him side-lined and seriously hampered his career.
Now back fit and healthy Cruz is looking for a fight. He was believed to be facing Cory Sandhagen at UFC San Diego but that bout quickly fell through and Cruz later revealed he has expressed a preference to fight Yan.
Unfortunately for fight fans, the Russian doesn’t seem to share the same desire to make the fight. Speaking to MMA Junkie via a translator he confirmed he is happy to be facing Marlon Moraes instead, he said.
“To be honest, I thought he retired and became a TV commentator already. He was a great fighter and the champion, and I respect that, but we don’t know at what level he is right now.
“I won’t say no if UFC offers the fight against him, but I prefer if we fight after he proves that he can have a fight camp without being injured and that he can still win at the top level. Reality is that I have more UFC wins than him and I’ve been in this organization less than two years.”
‘Triple C’ has already made a back-up plan by calling out Cruz to fight for the title should the event move to the United States. Yan though has a big problem with the type of opponents Cejudo has been aiming for recently, he explained.
“I think Cejudo made it clear to everyone that he thinks that Cruz coming off a long layoff is an easy fight for him – that’s why he wants to fight him.I don’t really need to say much about ‘Triple Clown.’ Everything he says and does discredits him enough.”
Who wins is Petr Yan faces Dominick Cruz?