Tag: Dominick Cruz

Dominick Cruz claims he’s a ‘Nightmare’ stylistic fight for UFC star Jose Aldo: ‘He’s going to be a free agent’

Dominick Cruz claims he's a nightmare fight for Jose Aldo He's going to be a free agentDominick Cruz thinks he is a terrible matchup for Jose Aldo. Cruz vs. Aldo has been a fight many…

Dominick Cruz claims he's a nightmare fight for Jose Aldo He's going to be a free agent

Dominick Cruz thinks he is a terrible matchup for Jose Aldo.

Cruz vs. Aldo has been a fight many fans have wanted to see for years, especially as both were UFC champions. However, it never came to fruition, but with the two now fighting at bantamweight it is more realistic it can come together.

Dominick Cruz
Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

It was rumored that Cruz was offered to face Aldo at UFC 301 in Brazil, but it didn’t come to fruition, which the former bantamweight champ claims was because Aldo wanted an easier fight in his return.

“Since you brought up Aldo, I’ll start with I saw his words were that they offered him to fight me but he wanted somebody in the top five, or, ‘He’s not in the top five,’” Dominick Cruz said on the “Anik & Florian Podcast” (via MMAJunkie). “Is Jonathan Martinez in the top five? OK, so there’s that. And then, why would you want to be in the top five unless you’re going to fight for the title? Is he planning on renegotiating his contract for another six fights and going for the title?

“Or do you want to make sure you secure a win to become a free agent off a win instead of a loss when you’ve got to face the likes of me, which is a nightmare? I’m not saying Jonathan Martinez isn’t a nightmare, but the way that I saw it is, he showed up on the first weigh-in and then he showed up the second weigh-in apologizing for showing up to the first weigh-in and that right there showed me that the man was learning who he was against Jose Aldo before he even got in there,” Dominick Cruz continued.

Dominick Cruz
Credit: Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Aldo did fight out his deal at UFC 301 as he beat Martinez by decision. Currently, it’s unclear if he will re-sign.

Dominick Cruz doubts Jose Aldo will be back in the UFC

Although Aldo got a big win at UFC 301 and is in the top-10 at bantamweight, he is right back in the title picture at 135lbs.

However, Dominick Cruz doesn’t think Aldo will re-sign with the UFC and will rather go back to boxing where he was having success.

Jose Aldo UFC 301 1

“He’s not going to renegotiate,” Cruz said. “Why would he sign for another six fights in the UFC? He’s not going to do that. He’s going to go be a free agent.”

As for Cruz, he has not fought since August of 2022 when he got knocked out by Marlon Vera.

Jose Aldo confirms return fight at UFC 301 was set to come against Dominick Cruz before clash was shelved

Jose Aldo confirms UFC 301 return fight was set to come against Dominick Cruz before clash was scrappedSlated to snap his almost two-year hiatus from mixed martial arts next weekend at UFC 301 in a homecoming…

Jose Aldo confirms UFC 301 return fight was set to come against Dominick Cruz before clash was scrapped

Slated to snap his almost two-year hiatus from mixed martial arts next weekend at UFC 301 in a homecoming return, former featherweight kingpin, Jose Aldo has confirmed his return bout was supposed to come against another former champion, Dominick Cruz, before the bout was scrapped.

Aldo, a former undisputed WEC and UFC featherweight gold holder, has been sidelined from the Octagon since 2022, most recently suffering a unanimous decision defeat in a blemish against surging number one contender, Merab Dvalishvili.

Aldo HOF 2
Mandatory Credit: Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC

And slated to make his return to action next weekend in Rio de Janeiro, Hall of Fame inductee, Aldo takes on Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event of UFC 301 in a Brazilian homecoming, however, a long-anticipated clash featuring the Manaus favorite was briefly in the works.

Jose Aldo reveals Dominick Cruz fight was scrapped from UFC 301

Sharing his thoughts on a pairing with Martinez, Aldo confirmed that initially, the promotion had floated a long-rumored ‘super fight’ of olden days against former two-time bantamweight champion, Cruz, until the American veteran was forced from a pairing due to undisclosed issues.

Jose Aldo snaps retirement set to fight at UFC 301 against Jonathan Martinez in Brazil
Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger – Zuffa LLC

“Just spoke with ‘The King of Rio’ Jose Aldo, who confirmed that Dominick Cruz was initially supposed to be his opponent at UFC 301,” Sportsnet reporter, Aaron Bronsteter posted on his official X account. “Aldo had heard that Cruz had an issue during his camp that forced him to withdraw, which led to the booking against Jonathan Martinez.”

Himself sidelined since he took main event status at UFC Fight Night San Diego, Cruz suffered a devastating fourth round high-kick KO loss to most recent title challenger, Marlon Vera in the pair’s title-eliminator – snapping his two fight winning run almost two years ago.

Dominick Cruz
Mandatory Credit: Carmen Mandato

UFC 301 takes place on May 4. from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, with an undisputed flyweight championship fight between Alexandre Pantoja, and Steve Erceg set to take main event honors. 

Would you still like to see Jose Aldo fight Dominick Cruz in the future?

Former Champion Dominick Cruz Returns to the Commentary Table in Place of Joe Rogan at UFC 297

Dominick CruzTwo-time bantamweight titleholder Dominick Cruz will return to the commentary booth for the promotion’s first pay-per-view event of 2024….

Dominick Cruz

Two-time bantamweight titleholder Dominick Cruz will return to the commentary booth for the promotion’s first pay-per-view event of 2024.

On Saturday (January 20), the Ultimate Fighting Championship will head to the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada for UFC 297. Emanating from Scotiabank Arena, the event will be headlined by an all-too-personal clash between South African contender Dricus Du Plessis and the reigning and defending middleweight world champion, Sean Strickland.

The co-main event of the evening will serve to crown a new women’s bantamweight titleholder as division veteran Raquel Pennington takes on the streaking Mayra Bueno Silva.

With less than a week to go until fight night, the promotion has not yet released details regarding who will be guiding us through the loaded night of fights. Per a report from MMA Junkie, Jon Anik will be your play-by-play man while Daniel Cormier and Dominick Cruz are set to join him at the desk and lend their unique perspective on the evening’s action. Cruz will take Joe Rogan’s place as the longtime commentator and popular podcaster no longer travels outside of the U.S. for UFC events.

Joining the trio will be UFC correspondent Megan Olivi who will conduct pre and post-fight interviews backstage throughout the evening.

The full card for UFC 297 is as follows:

MAIN CARD

  • Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis – Middleweight Title Fight
  • Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva – Vacant Women’s Bantamweight Title Fight
  • Neil Magny vs. Mike Malott
  • Chris Curtis vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
  • Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev

PRELIMS

  • Charles Jourdain vs. Sean Woodson
  • Brad Katona vs. Garrett Armfield
  • Serhiy Sidey vs. Ramon Taveras
  • Gillian Robertson vs. Polyana Viana
  • Yohan Lainesse vs. Sam Patterson
  • Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Priscila Cachoeira
  • Malcolm Gordon vs. Jimmy Flick

As always, the card is subject to change.

Cody Garbrandt shuts down talk of UFC 300 rematch with Dominick Cruz: ‘That fight doesn’t interest me’

Cody Garbrandt shuts down UFC 300 rematch with Dominick Cruz that fight doesn't interest meAmid calls from the mixed martial arts fanbase for a bantamweight rematch between former champions, Cody Garbrandt and Dominick…

Cody Garbrandt shuts down UFC 300 rematch with Dominick Cruz that fight doesn't interest me

Amid calls from the mixed martial arts fanbase for a bantamweight rematch between former champions, Cody Garbrandt and Dominick Cruz at UFC 300 in April of next year, the former has claimed a potential re-do with the latter simply does not interest him at the moment.

Garbrandt, a former undisputed bantamweight champion, made his return to the Octagon at UFC 296 earlier this month, extending his winning streak to two fights for the first time since 2016, landing a first round KO win over Brian Kelleher.

As for Cruz, the San Diego favorite has yet to make his return to the Octagon since he saw his impressive two-fight winning run halted by incoming UFC 299 headliner and title challenger, Marlon Vera – courtesy of a hellacious high-kick knockout at UFC San Diego back in August of last year. 

Sharing the Octagon at UFC 206 back in 2016, the then-unbeaten, Garbrandt turned in a remarkable performance against two-time gold holder, Cruz, landing a dominant unanimous decision win over the veteran in a massive upset victory in the pair’s co-main event slot.

Cody Garbrandt dismisses Dominick Cruz rematch

And despite calling for a rescheduled pairing with former flyweight gold holder, Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300 next year, Garbrandt has been urged to rematch Cruz at the monumental event, however, insists he has no interest in a re-run.

“Honestly, that fight [with Dominick Cruz] doesn’t interest me,” Cody Garbrandt told ESPN. “What else am I supposed to do with the guy? I mean, go in and knock him out this time? That’s the onle thing that would go put a statement or top that. It’s so hard to top that performance.”

“At the end of the day, Deiveson Figueiredo coming to the bantamweight division and having a win over Rob Font, I go knock Deiveson out, and it puts me right back in title contention,” Cody Garbrandt explained. “That’s what I’m here to do. I don’t want to be a runnerup in this sport. I always wnat to be at the top. I think that fight stylistically and everything it mounts to put me back in the top.” 

Would you like to see Cody Garbrandt fight Dominick Cruz at UFC 300?

Report: Deiveson Figueiredo set for bantamweight debut against Dominick Cruz in September

FigueiredoFormer UFC champions will collide when Deiveson Figueiredo makes his bantamweight division debut against two-time former titleholder Dominick Cruz. First reported by Igor Ribeiro, Figueiredo will make his official move to 135 in September for a clash with division staple Dominick Cruz. A specific date was not provided, but the likeliest scenario will pit the […]

Figueiredo

Former UFC champions will collide when Deiveson Figueiredo makes his bantamweight division debut against two-time former titleholder Dominick Cruz.

First reported by Igor Ribeiro, Figueiredo will make his official move to 135 in September for a clash with division staple Dominick Cruz. A specific date was not provided, but the likeliest scenario will pit the two fighters against one another on September 9 when the promotion heads back to Australia for UFC 293.

“Deiveson Figueiredo is very close to dating his debut in the French pesos,” Ribeiro said in a translated tweet. “The former flyweight champion negotiates to face Dominick Cruz, in September. Or verbal agreement is feito! ‘My employer is talking. It will be now for September,’” Figueiredo confirmed per the report.

Figueiredo and Cruz Will Both Be Looking to Get Back in the Win Column

Deiveson Figueiredo will make his way to the bantamweight division after etching his name in the history books at flyweight, capturing the 125-pound crown twice, and competing in the promotion’s first-ever quadrilogy against reigning flyweight champ Brandon Moreno. Boasting a 10-3-1 record inside the Octagon, 21-3-1 overall, ‘Deus Da Guerra’ will look to add another division’s gold to his already impressive collection.

But first, Figueiredo will need to pass a very tough test when he meets perhaps the most celebrated bantamweight in the history of MMA, Dominick Cruz. ‘The Dominator’ was long considered to be the best 135’er in the game, but a series of serious injuries plagued Cruz throughout his career and kept him out of the Octagon for long stretches of time. During his time away, Cruz has made his presence known at the commentary table, often working alongside Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik to offer his own unique take on the fight game during live broadcasts.

Cruz’s last appearance inside the Octagon came in August 2022 when he suffered a brutal fourth-round head kick KO against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. Prior to that, Cruz had back-to-back wins against Casey Kenny and Pedro Munhoz.