Dominick Cruz recently said he wanted to fight Petr Yan, but Yan doesn’t share the same sentiment.
Cruz (22-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC), who hasn’t competed since losing his UFC bantamweight title in December 2016, is prepping for an octagon return in 2020 and told MMA Fighting that he liked the idea of facing Yan as a fast track to a title shot, but Yan was already booked against Marlon Moraes.
However, Yan (14-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) is happy with his matchup with Moraes and thinks Cruz needs to prove he’s still got it after a layoff of more than three years.
“To be honest, I thought he retired and became a TV commentator already,” Yan told MMA Junkie through an translator. “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.”
Current bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is scheduled to face Jose Aldo at UFC 250 in Brazil, but with travel ban restrictions all over the world due to the coronavirus outbreak, the fight may not materialize.
So Cejudo called out Cruz as a potential backup, and Yan said he sees right through Cejudo’s recent choice of opponents.
“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,” Yan said. “I don’t really need to say much about ‘Triple Clown.’ Everything he says and does discredits him enough.”
Petr Yan not interested in Dominick Cruz: 'I thought he retired and became a TV commentator already'