Tag: Dominick Cruz

Dominick Cruz: Me Being Me Doesn’t Lose To Jimmie Rivera

Dominick Cruz hasn’t competed since surrendering his 135-pound title to Cody Garbrandt in the co-main event of December 2016’s UFC 207, but he’s set to make his return against surging contender Jimmie Rivera at UFC 219 on Dec. 30, 2017 from Las Vegas, Nevada. Although Cruz will certainly make less money due to the fight […]

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Dominick Cruz hasn’t competed since surrendering his 135-pound title to Cody Garbrandt in the co-main event of December 2016’s UFC 207, but he’s set to make his return against surging contender Jimmie Rivera at UFC 219 on Dec. 30, 2017 from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Although Cruz will certainly make less money due to the fight not being a title fight, he recent said that he’s viewing it no different than any of his previous fights:

“We don’t make near as much money — we don’t get paid near the same — unless we fight for the belt,” Cruz said in a recent interview with ESPN.com. “It doesn’t matter, though. Jimmie Rivera, to me, is the title fight. This is how I’ve approached every fight until now: The person they put in front of me is the title. That’s it.”

Prior to his loss to “No Love”, Cruz had won an incredible 13-straight fights. Many had considered him the very best bantamweight of all time, and many likely still do, but he’ll face a stiff test in the rising Rivera.

The 28-year-old has compiled an ultra impressive 20-fight wining streak that includes five consecutive Octagon victories. He’s most recently beaten Urijah Faber and Thomas Almeida, while establishing himself as a legitimate threat at 135 pounds.

Cruz doesn’t seem to be worried, however.

“I just have to be me, man,” Cruz said. “Me being me doesn’t lose to Jimmie Rivera. But more importantly, a healthy me doesn’t lose to anybody in the world.”

The stakes are high for this fight, as the winner will likely take on the winner of Nov. 4’s title fight between Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw.

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Dominick Cruz Explains Why He Accepted Fight With Jimmie Rivera

After losing his bantamweight title to Cody Garbrandt at last December’s UFC 207, Dominick Cruz made it clear that he was interested in a rematch with “No Love”, although he also let it be known that he was content with Garbrandt defending his title against fellow former champion TJ Dillashaw, whom Cruz beat in 2016. […]

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After losing his bantamweight title to Cody Garbrandt at last December’s UFC 207, Dominick Cruz made it clear that he was interested in a rematch with “No Love”, although he also let it be known that he was content with Garbrandt defending his title against fellow former champion TJ Dillashaw, whom Cruz beat in 2016.

Garbrandt and Dillashaw were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 213 this past July, but “No Love” was forced to withdraw from the fight with a back injury. The two will finally face off at November’s UFC 217 in New York.

With that being said, it was recently announced that Cruz would take on surging contender Jimmie Rivera at UFC 219 in December, and he explained why he accepted that fight on yesterday’s (Oct. 2, 2017) edition of The MMA Hour:

“I was wanting to wait for that title fight to come back around, and once [Garbrandt and Dillashaw] fight, just jump right back in there and face the winner,” Cruz told Ariel Helwani. “It only made sense, because I faced T.J. and everybody would want to see me rematch, I think, if he won, and I faced Cody and I think everybody would want to see me rematch if Cody won.

“What it comes down to is that I am not the king of the bantamweight division, Cody’s not the king of the bantamweight division, either; Sean Shelby is. He makes these decisions as to who fights who. And he said, ‘If you don’t fight Jimmie Rivera, Jimmie Rivera and Assuncao would fight and they would get the next title fight, not you.’ So he would end up giving me the loser, probably, of Cody-T.J.”

It makes sense that the winner of a bout between Cruz and Rivera would be next in line for a shot at gold, but Cruz made it clear that Shelby has the final call:

“Sean Shelby makes the decisions of the matchmaking in this division, so I listened,” Cruz said. “I have never picked a fight my whole career. I’ve never said, ‘This isn’t right, this isn’t that.’ I’m not here to complain. I enjoy fighting, I want to fight, so that’s why I’m doing it.

“This is the next matchup that creates a title shot for me.”

Do you expect Cruz to get passed Rivera later this year?

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Dominick Cruz Set To Return At UFC 219

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is finally set to return. News arrived tonight that Cruz will take on rising No. 3-ranked Jimmie Rivera at December 30’s UFC 219 pay-per-view (PPV) event from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cruz has been on the sidelines since losing to current champion Cody Garbrandt at the […]

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Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is finally set to return.

News arrived tonight that Cruz will take on rising No. 3-ranked Jimmie Rivera at December 30’s UFC 219 pay-per-view (PPV) event from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cruz has been on the sidelines since losing to current champion Cody Garbrandt at the UFC’s last year-ending card of December 30, 2016’s UFC 207.

Prior to that defeat, his only loss in the UFC, Cruz had maintained a peerless record in the octagon, defending the title twice before injuries derailed his otherwise dominant reign. He returned from a lengthy battle with serious knee injuries to win the title from then-champion T.J. Dillashaw in early 2016, defending the title against archrival Urijah Faber before losing the belt to Faber’s Team Alpha Male protegé “No Love.”

He’ll have no easy comeback against Rivera, who’s won all five of his bouts in the UFC, most recently defeating Thomas Almeida at July’s UFC on FOX 25 after he beat Faber and Iuri Alcantara by decision. The New Jersey native has quietly risen up the loaded 125-pound ranks to the cusp of title contention against the winner of the upcoming Garbrandt vs. Dillashaw title bout at UFC 217, something that will almost assuredly be his if he can get past a decorated former champ in Cruz.

Also added to UFC 219 was a women’s strawweight bout between surging Team Alpha Male contender Cynthia Calvillo and former champion Carla Esparza. No main event has been announced for the card, but the Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz trilogy bout has been rumored for the promotion’s New Year’s card.

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Dominick Cruz Ready to Step in For Garbrandt or Dillashaw at UFC 217

Having seen a back injury prevent Cody Garbrandt from defending his bantamweight title against TJ Dillashaw at UFC 213, Dominick Cruz is preparing for the unexpected Garbrandt beat Cruz in convincing style last year to take the 135-pound strap back to Team Alpha Male and engaged in a heated war of words prior to their […]

Having seen a back injury prevent Cody Garbrandt from defending his bantamweight title against TJ Dillashaw at UFC 213, Dominick Cruz is preparing for the unexpected Garbrandt beat Cruz in convincing style last year to take the 135-pound strap back to Team Alpha Male and engaged in a heated war of words prior to their […]

Dominick Cruz Ready To Step In If Garbrandt Or Dillashaw Gets Hurt

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is ready to get back inside of the world famous Octagon after suffering his first loss in over eight years at UFC 207 by losing the title to Cody Garbrandt in a highly-entertaining affair in December. The UFC has already announced that Garbrandt will make his first-ever title defense […]

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Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is ready to get back inside of the world famous Octagon after suffering his first loss in over eight years at UFC 207 by losing the title to Cody Garbrandt in a highly-entertaining affair in December.

The UFC has already announced that Garbrandt will make his first-ever title defense against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217. Now, Cruz is routing for Garbrandt to win the fight and would love nothing more than to get a do-over against Garbrandt.

“I would prefer Cody to win, just because I’d like to fight him in a rematch for the belt. I think it would be a really sick fight and it would be good for me,” said Dominick in a recent interview with UFC Unfiltered (h/t MMA Mania).

If you recall, Garbrandt was originally set to defend his title against Dillashaw back at UFC 213. However, the bout was delayed due to Garbrandt suffering an injury. Cruz believes that it’s time for the champion to “pay the piper” and defend his strap.

“I’m always training, I’ve been training this whole time. For me the title shot is important. I’ve earned that shot, I held the belt longer than anyone in this division and I help build the division,” proclaimed Dominick

“I gave Cody that shot when I could’ve fought T.J. again. I have been doing this to build the division. I brought another guy up and fought him for the title because I wanted another guy in the mix. We needed that for the division. If anyone of these guys gets hurt I would like to slide in and challenge for the title, 100-percent,” confirmed Cruz.

UFC 217 is set to take place on Saturday, November 4th in New York at Madison Square Garden. Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre for the UFC middleweight title will headline this event. The main card will air on pay-per-view while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.

“I don’t think either one of these two guys are going to pull out of that card, because of what I said about the pay-per-views and all that stuff. I think they will be there. And I hope they are so they can go out and get that fight done, I think it will be a fun fight regardless,” he concluded.

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Mickey Gall Finally Booked For UFC Return

After beating two of the UFC’s more famous names (though not necessarily the best fighters) in 2016, undefeated welterweight prospect Mickey Gall has been out of action for the entirety of this year. That will all change at the upcoming UFC 217, however. Word broke from Newsday (via MMA Fighting) today that Gall will face […]

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After beating two of the UFC’s more famous names (though not necessarily the best fighters) in 2016, undefeated welterweight prospect Mickey Gall has been out of action for the entirety of this year.

That will all change at the upcoming UFC 217, however.

Word broke from Newsday (via MMA Fighting) today that Gall will face Randy Brown at the anticipated pay-per-view (PPV) event this November 4 from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.

The bout will join a quickly forming card which features three title fights when Michael Bisping faces a returning Georges St-Pierre for the middleweight championship, Cody Garbrandt finally defends his bantamweight title against TJ Dillashaw, and strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk battles Rose Namajunas.

Gall has performed well in his short UFC tenure thus far, submitting Mike Jackson, Punk, and Northcutt via rear-naked choke in all three of his octagon bouts. He sits at a promising-but-still-unproven 4-0 in his professional mixed martial arts career after finding the opportunity to compete in the UFC on Dana White’s “Looking For A Fight” online series.

Brown was also found on the show and currently sits at 3-2 in the UFC. He was most recently handed a decision defeat by Belal Muhammad.

Not that it needed it, but UFC 217 has added yet another potentially exciting bout to possibly the most jam-packed lineup of 2017 – at a time when they need just that more than ever. Check out the full updated card right here:

Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre
Cody Garbrandt vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Rose Namajunas
Aiemann Zahabi vs. Ricardo Ramos
Johny Hendricks vs. Paulo Borrachinha
Aleksei Oleinik vs. Curtis Blaydes
Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Ion Cutelaba
Corey Anderson vs. Patrick Cummins
Stephen Thompson vs. Jorge Masvidal

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